Sex On Fire
by baybie
Summary: I'm pregnant." "Well what did you expect? You take your clothes off for a living," he snapped, running his fingers through his coloured hair. "You disgust me, Keri." "You don't understand. As far as I know, I've never...I'm a virgin," she whispered.
1. Chapter 1

**So, here I am. Many, many, MANY months overdue. And I have a dilemma. Due to my trying to actually write something and finish it before posting, I have a million unfinished projects because my mind always strays. I've decided I'm better off posting something so I feel guilty if I don't actually finish it. **

**And because I couldn't decide which story to publish, I've chosen two. I'm sorry if you notice any similarities (I'll try my best to weed these out before posting) but I was only going to post one story so... Some of the similarities I couldn't change because it would change the whole story.**

**There'll be plenty of sex and bad language in this one. The other one won't be any better. (In fact, the other one is quite worse) If easily offended, please don't read.**

**As always, I appreciate any reviews, constructive or otherwise.**

**And may I say I'm pregnant and very lazy at the moment. On a good day bedtime is about ten pm. On a bad one (and these come often) I'm in bed the same time I put my two year old to bed (7.30). Sorry, but this means I might take longer to update than before. I can't help it. I can no longer sit by my laptop until three am trying to get an update out. **

**DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Nothing in this story should be taken as truth in part or whole. ****Everything/everyone else is owned by World Wrestling Entertainment or by the individuals themselves, except my OCs. No copyright infringement intended. And I am not getting paid a single penny for this. If you sue, you'll only get the £0.50 in my purse. Sorry.**

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* * *

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_He pushed her back against the fridge hard as his body crushed into hers. She tasted so good... so damn good. She was completely naked except for the lacy French panties, his for the taking. Her lips were making him giddy; he really thought he was going to explode right there. Her little body was writhing in his arms, her silky skin rubbing against his as she moaned against his lips. _

"_Mine," he growled, his lips leaving her momentarily. "Nobody else's. Just mine."_

"_Yours," she murmured backed, her big hazel eyes now liquid gold with desire._

_He attacked her lips hungrily after this admission, torturing himself with her searing touch. Her little fingers were everywhere, burning him, branding him. He needed to touch her too. _

_While his one hand continued to grip her butt and press her into him really hard, his other found her breast, gently moulding it before it trailed down to her butt as well. All the while she was moaning his name, begging him, making him so hot. He couldn't take it._

_Impatiently, he ripped the panties off her, immediately finding her sweetness with his fingers. She screamed against his lips, grinding her hips forward against his finger. She felt so good, so tight. She felt so incredible in his arms, her soft skin against his hard body. He needed to taste it, every inch of it. _

_And he did._

_His lips left hers to start trailing her neck, licking, sucking, and biting. She was like ecstasy. The taste of her, the very scent of her... so addictive. His erection was throbbing against her body, dying for its release. She was so hot... _

_Gently lifting her up, he took a few steps towards the door to head to his bedroom but he realised he wouldn't make it that far. He needed her too badly._

_So he put her down on the kitchen floor. He was already naked, so there was no need to waste time._

_That first urgent thrust was both intense and shocking. She screamed, this time in pain. He had just broken through a barrier. Immediately stopping his frenzied movements, he looked down into her beautiful face._

"_Why didn't you tell me?" he whispered._

"_Because you would have stopped," she answered, and then she proceeded to wrap her legs around him, pushing him deeper into her hot sweetness._

"_God," he moaned. "I'm sorry."_

"_Don't be," she smiled. "Make love to me, Jeff."_

_She looked so beautiful, so horny, how could he refuse?_

_He moved slowly at first so her virgin walls could get used to the size of him, but it only took a few thrusts for him to completely lose his head. He couldn't have been gentle even if someone was holding a gun to his head. She felt too good; so tight, so incredible. And when she finally got used to the invasion and started to moan... when started screaming in pleasure, he couldn't help himself._

_He shot his load into her, every drop of it, while a pure animalistic howl escaped from deep inside him._

_He dropped to his elbows, careful not to put his whole weight on her tiny body while he dropped a kiss on her lips. He'd been selfish; he hadn't brought her to completion._

"_I'm sorry. I promise it will be so much better next time," he whispered. _

"_It will? But that was so good," she said, slightly in awe._

_He chuckled, kissing her again._

"_You ain't seen nothin' yet, kid," he laughed._

"_So show me."_

_He grinned down at her, already getting hard again inside her._

"_Have my babies."_

"_I'll have ten of 'em," she smiled._

"_Promise?"_

"_Mmm," she answered._

"_Let's get married."_

"_Why?"_

"_So I can hold you to that. You _will_ have my babies, Keri."_

"_Yes."_

"_Yes what?"_

"_Yes, I'll marry you."_

o O o

Jeff woke up with a raging hard on, the dream still so fresh in his head. It always seemed so damn real.

Then in the harsh morning light he would proceed to push the dream to the far recesses of his mind where it belonged. He would try to forget he'd felt everything; every single touch, every single kiss, even the tightness of her body as he plunged into her as if she was actually there underneath him. And he would also try to forget he'd felt all the strong feelings that crashed into him, that made him dizzy with this sickening longing for her.

Two whole months he'd had this dream. Or nightmare. Whatever. Was he being punished? Probably.

Deciding he wouldn't get anymore sleep, even though the sun hadn't even come up yet, he quietly walked across the hall to the bathroom for a quick shower.

He needed to scrub that bitch from his thoughts.

Twenty minutes later, dressed in just a pair of jeans, he was making his way downstairs when he heard it. A loud crashing sound from the kitchen.

Frowning, he continued down the stairs slowly. His brother, Matt, was still sleeping – he'd heard the soft snores as he'd passed his door – and as far as he knew, there was no one else in the house.

At the foot of the stairs, he picked up one of Matt's baseball bats that was along the wall, and continued slowly towards the sound.

The stairs came down straight into Matt's foyer, which was flanked by the cosy den and the spacious lounge. A long hallway led off it with numerous doors that led into the dining room, the gym, the game room and Matt's office; and it came to the back of the house where the kitchen was.

As he came to the kitchen he saw the light on and paused briefly to weigh the bat in his hand before he held it ready to swing. They'd had a few Hardy fans come up to the house lately, just asking if they could hang out like they were friends or something. As much as he adored them and did his best in the ring to entertain them, that shit was just plain freaky.

Hopefully, whoever was in that kitchen was just a fan. He could just ask them to leave.

If it was a burglar, then he was sure as hell going to use the bat.

But as he rounded the corner, bat ready, he stopped dead in his tracks. Froze, would have been a better word. He couldn't have moved even if he'd wanted to.

Keri Christos was back. And his life was about to be turned upside down again.

Bent over, inspecting the contents of Matt's fridge, was the same butt that had been invading his dreams. Clad in the skimpiest of shorts, swaying from side to side, it was as firm, sexy and juicy as he remembered. He was sure he started drooling a little. And those legs... they always looked so smooth, and even though she was actually only about five-three, somehow, everytime he saw those legs they seemed to go on forever.

It took him a moment to realise she was humming, it sounded like Sex on Fire, Kings of Leon.

Slowly, he lowered his bat, not wanting to make a sound so he could have a few seconds longer of uninterrupted observation.

She straightened and stretched. His eyes immediately darkened and he bit his lip as they moved up to her incredibly full hips and tiny waist, and the indecent amount of the tempting skin exposed by her little tank top.

Even if he would never be caught dead admitting it out loud, the girl had what he considered the perfect figure; full, curvy – much like a coke bottle. He knew that was a bit clichéd, but that was the truth. She didn't have an ounce of fat on her, which was surprising, considering how much she managed to wolf down, but she wasn't a disgusting size zero, either. She was just all curves. She was just perfect. From the tips of her hair, her big hazel eyes, the little button nose to the tips of her little toes.

She was freakin' gorgeous. A wet dream. Perfect.

She had unusual looks, what with her being the offspring of some white guy from New York and a prostitute from Chicago, Donna Christos, who was half African American and half Greek. When asked of her ethnicity, which was often because she was striking, she told everyone she was African American. Then she looked at whoever asked her the question and dared them to ask any more questions. They never did. Yes; she was really sensitive about that. She'd never met her dad, and the only family she was in touch with was from her African American side so she'd only claimed that part of herself. And he only knew all of this because Matt had confided in him some years back. She didn't talk about herself much. Not to him, anyway.

She had the longest, thickest and silkiest hair he'd ever seen – straight, dark brown and all the way down to her waist. Rather than making her look innocent, it made her look like some sort of fallen angel. Not surprising, as there was nothing innocent about Keri. Then there was her skin; from the gorgeous dark tone due her combined origins to the smooth, soft texture... He could run his hands all over it all day if she'd let him but that would be too weird.

Because she hated him. And he hated her.

But it still didn't stop him from wanting to nail her.

She had earphones on, and her little I-pod was tucked in the waistband of her shorts. He hadn't spotted them immediately because they were hidden behind her curtain of brown. Her hair... in his dream, he'd buried his face in it, smelt her coconuty shampoo...

"Matt, can't you ever get some real food in here," he heard her mutter to herself as she closed the fridge in disgust.

Without looking back at the door where he stood, she walked to one of the cupboards where Matt kept all the junk food.

Those cupboards were too high for her. He saw her contemplate jumping up onto the counter like she always did, but for some reason she decided not to. What she wanted seemed to be close enough for her to just stretch a little and reach for it.

He had a flash of déjà vu. One variation of his dream started just like this. Was he still dreaming, then?

Unable to stop his feet, he found himself directly behind her as she struggled to reach for some cookies. Then he found himself leaning into her body, instantly setting his own on fire as he imprisoned her there with his hands on the counter on either side of her.

"What the...!"

He'd startled her. She whirled around quickly to face him, and he almost groaned when she was suddenly nestled so snugly between his thighs. He didn't move back. He couldn't. Not when he was straining against his jeans to be where he wanted to be, not when the only thing keeping him from taking her were the scraps of material on their bodies.

"Jeff," she whispered, pulling the earphones out. "You scared me."

His body was pressed up against hers, so much so he could feel every curve of her body; every single sinful curve, especially the full breasts that had fit perfectly in his palms in one of his dreams. Her face was so close to his, so close he could make out the gold that speckled the deep pool of her hazel eyes. He could feel her warm breath on him and it was driving him crazy, making his blood boil, and making him so hot. He was sure if she made another move, no matter how small, he would disgrace himself on the spot. The heat between her legs was calling to him, only this time it seemed more unbearable than before. He blamed it on the damned dream. It was too soon after indulging in that to actually come into contact with the real thing.

Everything about her drove him crazy.

And the stupid girl had no clue.

The confusion in her beautiful hazel eyes was enough to bring him out of his insanity.

"What are you doing, Nero?" she snapped.

He moved his eyes from her probing ones, and moved his arm to easily reach for the cookies she wanted.

"Keep your fucking noise down. There're people trying to sleep," he growled, thinking on his feet as he put the cookies down on the counter.

"Oh, please! I could have had a party down here and Matt still wouldn't have woken up," she said, pushing him away and turning to the cookies.

Either she hadn't noticed the hard object that had been stabbing her or she didn't give a shit. He was going to go with she hadn't noticed. Surprisingly, though she was no innocent, she could be pretty dim when it came to matters like that. That was a good thing. If Keri had any idea what went through his head about her, she'd have made his life a living hell. Well, more than she already did, anyway.

He pulled a chair out from the breakfast island and sat down to hide the offending object.

"So what you doing here?" he asked.

It was never a good thing when Keri came home.

"Can't I just visit without the twenty questions everytime?" she scowled, walking over to the fridge to pull the milk out.

He couldn't help looking at her body again.

He knew her beauty was only skin deep, but somehow, his body refused to cooperate with his head. Well, his thinking head.

"No," he answered. "What you done this time?"

"Nothing," Keri answered, bringing a glass of milk and her cookies over to sit across from him. "I just came to see how Matt was doing. And I kinda need a break from work."

Matt. Her hero. Of course. Why else would she come? To see him? Of course not.

"Work? You? Last I heard, they didn't exactly call stealing cars 'work'," he sneered.

"One time, Jeff. Will you let that go already?" she snapped.

He grunted. Everything she did was 'just one time'. He would know; he'd had to get her out of trouble too many times to mention.

"Are you in trouble?"

"No," she answered him with a frown.

"Have you run with someone's money again?"

"No!"

"So what _work_ are you doing?" he asked.

He saw the look that quickly passed in her eyes before she took a bite of her cookie. And he knew straight away that whatever she was doing now was no better than what he'd accused her of. Dealing again? No, she wouldn't be stupid enough to do that after what he'd done to her the last time he'd caught her. Was she still a con artist, then? Or was she back to being just a thief?

Did she have people after her again? Was she in danger?

"What work are you doing?" he asked again, this time roughly.

"Relax. It's nothing bad, nothing that'll get me arrested," she said with an irritated frown at him. "I've decided to mainstream, see what all the fuss about sticking to rules and schedules is about."

He believed her. He didn't know why, but he always knew when she was telling him the truth.

"So how long are you home for?" he asked.

Technically, her house was about ten minutes away, but she'd been a regular visitor at their childhood home - and by regular he meant she'd actually seemed to live with them, preferring that to being with her own family - so when Matt had bought this house, he'd given her, her own room so she could come and go as she pleased.

"Don't know. I'm kinda burnt out. I just have to get myself a bit healthy and then I'll go."

It was only then that he noticed how tired she looked. She had bags under her eyes and she'd lost too much weight. Like she hadn't eaten or slept in a long time.

"You haven't been taking care of yourself again," he stated with a frown.

"It's been hectic. I haven't had time to worry about that," she shrugged.

"So you've come home so Mattie can't take care of you," he said with a disgusted shake of his head. "Typical!"

She always did this, always expected everyone else to bend over backwards for her.

"I can take care of myself," she snapped. "I've just come for the company."

He watched her tuck a strand of her beautiful hair behind her ear as she bit into another cookie. She seemed to have eaten near enough the entire packet.

"If you're trying to get healthy, eating a whole box of cookies isn't going to do it," he said as he snatched them from her.

"I would have eaten something else but there's nothing in the fridge that resembles food," she said as she snatched them back from his hands.

Meaning it was full of fruit and vegetables, and all the healthy shit that was part of Matt's diet. Keri had never learnt to cook. The best she could do in the kitchen was toast or a boiled egg and even that was a stretch.

She was pretty useless.

"Put that away, I'll make you something quick," he sighed.

"I'm pretty tired, don't bother."

"You look like you've been starving yourself. Sit there and wait for your food," he ordered.

He constantly had to bully her into doing things, but he didn't sweat it. He was only looking out for her, even if the bitch didn't appreciate it most of the time. It wasn't as if he _liked_ doing anything for her. He just _had_ to. It was a habit, formed from fifteen years of being forced to watch her back.

"Jeff___"

"Sit."

He heard no more arguments from her as he set about making breakfast quickly. It wasn't long before he placed two plates on the table loaded with eggs, bacon, beans and toast.

"Eat."

She did so without argument. And surprisingly, she cleaned her plate. He'd thought she wouldn't, since she'd had the cookies only moments before.

For a change, they didn't argue. There was no name calling or insults over their early breakfast. No threats of physical violence. No death threats. He put it down to her being tired. There could be no other reason. They normally couldn't breathe the same air without starting a fully-fledged war. Mainly because Keri was just full of bullshit and he was never afraid to call her on it.

"I'm going to bed. Tell Matt I'm here when he wakes up," she mumbled as she put her plate in the sink and then walked out of the kitchen.

She looked ready to drop on her feet, so much so he felt a little pang of guilt for keeping her up longer than she'd wanted.

But he quickly banished that guilt. It wasn't worth feeling anything for that woman. It was bad enough that he got a boner when he so much as heard her name.

Dumping his own plate in the sink, he grabbed his cigarettes from one of the cupboards and headed out back to sit on the porch and watch the as the sun rose.

Unsurprisingly, his thoughts turned back to Keri. Not counting the few days she had come home for Christmas and New Year about two months ago, it had been six months since they had really seen her. She called Matt often, of course, but he hadn't heard her voice even once. That had made it a bit easier to push her to the back of his mind. Where she belonged.

But now she was here. Under the same roof. With no idea how much he wanted to nail her.

It would only take one little hint of encouragement from her for him to have her flat on her back. He didn't like admitting this, even to himself, but it was true.

No matter how much he loathed her, no matter how much he thought she was a waste of time and space, he'd nail that shit.

Repeatedly.

Very hard.

Very fast.

Until this crazy feeling was out of his system.

Then he could go back to just hating her without any of the sexual frustrations in the way.

* * *

Keri made her way slowly to the impressive room that had been hers since Matt had bought the house, her eyelids getting heavier with each step.

Matt had worked his magic on the room as always. Her clothes were no longer strewn all over the floor and she was willing to bet the king sized bed had all fresh bedding on it. She always told him off for doing this for her but for once she was grateful. She had lived among the worst kind of filth for so long; it was soothing to be back here.

The bed looked so inviting, but there was no way she could sleep with the filth on her. She knew her hair was greasy as fuck and if Jeff had smelt something funky on her earlier, he hadn't said anything.

As quick as she could, she stripped all her clothes off and walked to the adjoining bathroom, longingly looking at the vintage claw-foot tub Matt had installed for her for a moment before stepping into the shower. There would be time enough after she rested for a long soak.

So less than ten minutes later, she was ruffling through her wardrobes for a t-shirt to sleep in. She was looking for some underwear when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

She paused, her hands in the drawers as she took her reflection in.

God, she looked like shit! She couldn't even recognise herself. Her cheeks were sunken, she had bags under her eyes and she looked completely pale. She was no beauty anyway, but this look wasn't helping her much.

She dropped the towel that she'd wrapped around her damp body and shook her head sadly at the sorry sight. Skin and bones; that was what she was. She was blessed with a high metabolism anyway, so she'd never had a spare ounce of fat on her body, but this... it was ridiculous. She would have to see a doctor straight away.

Well, at least her breasts looked bigger, she smirked to herself. That had to be a plus.

She looked at her face again and sighed. She had never understood how she had turned out to look the complete opposite of the woman who'd bore her. Even though her mother was a bitch, literally _and_ figuratively, she was still the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen. On her bad days, when she was feeling sorry for herself, she always looked in the mirror wondered how the hell things went so wrong with her. She would have thought, with all she'd read and seen about the Greek women, that at least that bloodline would have ensured some sort of attractiveness. But no. She had to be stuck with eyes the colour of mud, a butt the size of Texas, tiny breasts and skin that wasn't light brown like her mum's but some very strange colour she couldn't describe.

Shaking her head, she looked away from the depressing sight and finished dressing.

Then she made her way to the bed and was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

* * *

Jeff must have stood there a good ten minutes, just watching her face, trying to figure out what had changed in her.

That had been what had pulled him into her room in the first place. It had hit him just as he'd finished his second cigarette. He normally only had one, since he was trying to quit anyway, but everytime this woman was around she messed him up pretty bad.

But as he'd finished his smoke, he'd realised that something had been really different about Keri. He had noticed it first when he'd sat across her in the kitchen, that glow, that aura around her even though she looked so sickly. She had changed. Something in her had changed. He was itching to know what it was.

They hadn't argued over their meal, could that have been a sign? Was all this tiring animosity coming to an end? He hoped so. He didn't like always being on his toes whenever they were in the same room.

He hadn't always hated her. In fact, he had been so intrigued by her at first, so fascinated. Keri was just so different from everyone he had ever met, and not just because of her looks. She was just really complex, and he'd liked that at first because he liked trying to figure people out. So like the fool he was, he'd gently coaxed her out of her shell. That would probably be the biggest regret he would have until the day he died because by doing that, he had unleashed hell on himself. She'd become a little monster.

She'd started irritating him, pissing him off with every move. And of course trailing along wherever he and the boys went, playing on their trampoline, messing with his bikes, his art, his instruments, everything. Then there was all the trouble she brought to their door. At first, he'd tried telling everyone she didn't actually live there, but they'd kept coming. When she'd been younger, it had been shop keepers, angry neighbours, teachers, the parents of the kids she tortured at the playground. Then she got older and her enemies became more dangerous. Debt collectors, ex-boyfriends, their wives or girlfriends, police, dealers, the lot. Then her constant disappearing and reappearing, causing Matt so much worry.

Matt claimed it was just a cry for help, but he knew better. She was just an attention seeking little bitch.

A little moan escaped her lips and his ear pricked up, his eyes drawn again to her face. Keri was beautiful, there was no denying that. He couldn't pin point when exactly he'd started looking at her different, but sometime after her twentieth birthday her smiles had started to look that much brighter. And all the little movements she'd made had started to look that much sexier. He'd slowly started to become fixated on her. Then now, only four years later, that fixation had turned into a full blown disease. She was too beautiful for his peace of mind.

But he'd never voluntarily compliment her, though. It was just so... unnatural. Words like that, when it came to Keri, just stuck in his throat.

"No..." Keri muttered with a small frown on her face.

He frowned as well, wishing he could just see what was in that head of hers.

She'd been Matt's 'little sister' from the moment they had found her down by the creek when she'd been about ten years old. Matt had been nineteen, he'd been sixteen. Matt had taken the lonely little girl under his wing straight away. He was always doing that, always taking in strays. Purely by association, she had become his 'little sister' too.

That meant he'd always been forced to stick his neck out for her when he never wanted to. But he knew she meant a lot to Matt and if anything ever happened to her, Matt would just die. So he felt like he had no choice.

Just like he felt he had no choice but to look after her now.

Looking at her as she lay there, unguarded; seeing how much weight she had lost and how tired she was, he didn't see any way out of it. Matt would insist she stay until he was sure she was alright. Then maybe they would see the last of her for another few months and he would get some of his sanity back.

With a last look, he walked out of the bedroom. He'd wait until she got up to solve the mystery in his head.

Because something _had_ changed in her. He just hoped it was a good change.

**AN/ So run over to the second story (Amazing Grace) and read that. But don't forget to review and let me know what you think. First chapter just an intro with a bit of the background story. After a few more chapters, let me know which of the two you prefer. I might concentrate on that one more.**


	2. Chapter 2

Jeff was still on the porch, where he'd returned after looking in on Keri, when his brother walked out of the house with two mugs of coffee.

"Mornin' Jeff," Matt said as he handed him one of the mugs. "Couldn't sleep?"

He looked down at the little pile of cigarette butts at his feet, an indication of just how long he'd been sitting there. Then he looked back over the view of the pool and woods beyond it, shrugging a little.

"Keri woke me," he answered.

Well, his dream about Keri had, anyway. He'd already been up when he'd heard the crash.

"Ah," Matt said with a little smile, as if everything suddenly made sense.

"What?" He frowned.

"Nothing," Matt said, the stupid smile still on his face.

He was quite positive his brother had no idea of the dirty thoughts he had of Keri. If he did, he would surely have beaten them out of him by now.

So why did he have that smile on his face?

"Did you two fight again?" Matt asked.

"No. We're perfectly capable of being civil to each other."

This was met with an amused grunt. Because it wasn't true and his brother knew it.

"Did she just ignore you and go straight to bed?"

"No, actually. I made her something to eat first," he revealed. "And we _didn't_ fight. She was too tired."

"So you've been out here killing your lungs because she was too tired to fight you?"

"No. I've been sitting out here because I was watching the sun rise," he lied.

"Uh huh," Matt chuckled.

"What?" he snapped.

"You're so transparent some times," Matt laughed.

For a second, he froze, thinking his brother had realised his secret.

"You think she's in trouble again, don't you? Well, sitting here worrying about what she may or may not have done won't help," Matt laughed.

He visibly relaxed. His secret was still safe.

"I do _not_ worry about Keri," he growled.

"No, you're right. You just worry about being involved in all her shit," Matt sighed as he sipped his coffee.

"Well, the last thing I'd want is to be implicated in a murder or something! The girl hates me so much she'd probably take me down with her if she ever got caught."

"She's not that bad, Jeff," Matt chided.

He grunted, thinking of all the things he'd had to cover up for her, things Matt didn't even know.

"She's fucking evil."

"She's misguided," Matt corrected.

"She's the Devil," he stated firmly, flicking his last cigarette away.

"I wish you two would just stop all this shit," Matt sighed. "She's a good girl. If you just give her a chance, you'll see that for yourself."

"A chance? I've given her millions of chances."

Matt sighed and got up from his seat.

"Shane and Shannon are coming over for lunch. We need a few things; I'm just going to run down to the shop quickly."

"Get me another pack of these while you're there," he said, indicating to his empty packet of smokes.

"No," Matt answered easily as he walked back into the house.

* * *

Before he left the house, Matt went up to Keri's room to quickly check on her. He tried to push away the horrible thoughts running through his head but they kept coming back.

She was in trouble again.

Why else would she be there? Not that he didn't like it when she was home – for the past...God knew how many years, he'd actually been trying to persuade her to just live with him permanently and let him take care of her – but he'd spoken to her only days before and she hadn't mentioned she was coming home.

So she'd gone and done something stupid again.

Was she in danger? Was someone about to break his door down looking for her? Again?

He was getting too old for this. Everytime was something new, something worse than before, like she was trying to destroy herself on purpose.

And the sad thing was he knew she was. He'd never met a more unhappy person. She covered it up as best as she could, but he could always see it. So many insecurities and burdens on such tiny shoulders.... It always saddened him.

Keri had been ten when they'd met, but it had been years later when she'd trusted him with the truth about herself. She'd had it really rough, and even now, she still hadn't told him everything. And what she'd told him, she'd sworn him to secrecy.

But from then, even though he'd looked out for her from the day they'd met, he'd taken it upon himself to do a lot more. He'd become her father and brother as well as her friend. Except for Legend, his dad, whom he depended on to watch out for her whilst he was on the road, he'd never told another soul what he knew.

But everyone else understood Keri. You only had to really listen to her, watch her body language, to know her story. Jeff was the expert at such things; he could tell someone's life story by just observing them. So how he could be so obtuse when it came to Keri was a complete mystery.

He'd felt offended on Keri's behalf that Jeff could be so wrong about her, but Keri had told him to lay off it because Jeff would always see only what he wanted to see. But it still pained him that his own brother would bring more stress on her young shoulders. From the time he'd known the truth, he'd understood perfectly why she did some of the things she did. Why couldn't Jeff just make a little bit of effort? He would then understand why she was now this angry, uncontrollable little woman and maybe try to help her instead of stressing her more.

At 24, going on 25, she had already fought a drug addiction. She'd been arrested numerous times for numerous things. She'd been beaten by boyfriends, though in most of those cases she'd given as good as she'd got and when she couldn't he'd made sure he'd beaten them to a pulp on her behalf. Or Jeff did. His brother was usually first on the scene when it came to getting rid of her pathetic boyfriends.

And she was probably wanted in quiet a few states. He wasn't really sure about that one, but everytime she disappeared and there was some crime on the news, he couldn't help but think she was involved.

But she was a good girl, despite all her efforts to show the contrary. He knew that. When she was with him, with his family and friends, who had over the course of the years become her family too, he saw some of those insecurities disappear. She knew they all truly loved her, and she was free to be herself. She laughed easily in their company. It was only when she was alone, when she had time to think that those insecurities surfaced again.

It was when she got in one these her self-hating moods, when she thought the world and her mother hated her and she was useless to anyone that she disappeared. She caused him an immeasurable amount of worry, and usually, his worry was warranted. He'd tried so often to give her money so she wouldn't have to resort to all these things to survive, but she was a proud girl. She said it was enough that he'd had her back from the time she was ten, but he put something in her account every month anyway. To date, she hadn't touched a penny. Very stubborn, Keri was.

If he didn't find a way to stop this now, there was no telling if she would come back the next time she disappeared.

Maybe he could get Jeff to talk to her. She always listened to Jeff, no matter how much she claimed to hate him.

That relationship was actually a bit funny to him. Noone brought out so many strong emotions in Jeff like Keri did, and to date, Jeff was the only one who could actually knock a bit of sense into her. They didn't see it this way, obviously. They thought _he _was the voice of reason. But whenever Keri got herself into shit, it was Jeff who took care of it; it was Jeff who made sure she never did it again. And whenever Jeff fucked up, it was Keri who insulted the shit out of him until he admitted he had a problem and took care of it. The funny thing was they thought they were doing it for him; they thought that by dealing with the other's problem, they wouldn't need to stress him out with it.

He hadn't really had to lift a finger to help them out in years.

He sighed as he took a final look at his sleeping friend. God, she'd lost a lot of weight. She'd always been on the slim side but now she looked really bony. She needed looking after. He had a few days before he had to return on the road, maybe he could convince her to stay for a while and just chill.

He closed the door quietly and made his way out of the house. If he was going to get Keri to stay, he needed to do quite a bit of food shopping, the type of food she could just heat up and eat, rather than cook herself. Otherwise he'd come home to find his house burnt to the ground.

* * *

Keri was still tired when she woke up close to noon.

She shuffled to the bathroom, taking her clothes off on the way and ran the water in the tub while she sat on the side like a zombie. She didn't bother with bubbles on and salts. It seemed too much of an effort.

When she finally sank herself in the water, her hair wrapped up and protected from the water, she felt her whole body relax as the heat worked on her tired muscles. It felt good. Really good. She missed all this when she went out by herself. Matt knew how to really live well; he'd never had to struggle like she did, not even before his WWE days. Some people had all the luck.

She rested her head on the back and closed her eyes.

It was easy, when she was here, to forget all her problems. But she knew she wouldn't be able to run away from them for long. Those sharks were always waiting for her on the other side of that door. The shark that was waiting now was bigger than the ones she'd had to fend off before. It worried her that maybe she wouldn't be so successful this time. That was probably why she was so sick. All that stress couldn't be a good thing.

At least she was starting to feel a bit better now and she'd be able to work and concentrate on solving this particular problem. A couple of weeks at least, then she could go back to making that paper night after night like she'd been doing, barely making rent but at least keeping the shark at bay.

Ah, life. Could it get any worse?

* * *

Jeff didn't bother knocking on her door. He'd waited long enough to talk to her, and he wanted to do it before the rest of the guys came and got their hands on her.

Keri wasn't on her bed, but he saw the trail of clothes that led to the bathroom. What little there was of it, anyway. A t-shirt and a pair of panties. What she normally wore to bed. And he knew this because he had seen her in her bed clothes often enough. Too many times.

He walked to the doorway and stopped when he saw her in the tub, her back to him as she rested her head on the back. He could see a lot of her through the clear water.

And he was drooling again.

Damnit!

If he took another step forward he would probably see all of her. As much as he wanted nothing better, that would completely mess up the rest of his day. And quite possibly the rest of his month. Images of her like that tended to stick in his head for a long time, keeping him in a state of constant arousal. He _so_ didn't need that right now.

He was about to turn when she turned her head and muttered something. Had she seen him?

She muttered again and this time her face dipped into the water.

She was asleep! The damn woman had fallen asleep in a tub filled to the brim.

Quickly, he strode the last few steps to her and yanked her out of the water, startling her awake in the process. Her arms flayed and she sputtered a little as she spit some water out of her mouth, but he held her steady.

"Do you have a fucking death wish or something?" he snapped.

"What?" she asked, smacking his hand away. "What the hell are you doing, Jeff?"

He immediately forgot his anger when he realised she was standing naked only inches away from him. Naked and dripping wet. And so, so hot.

Even though she'd lost a lot of weight, she was still as sexy as hell. His eyes dropped to the dark curls between her legs and he immediately started drooling again. And he went as hard as a rock.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! _

The hell was he thinking? As much as he wanted to just grab her and do her right there on the bathroom floor, Keri would probably scream bloody rape. She made no secret of the fact that she hated him just as much as he hated her, and he was willing to bet his life that all this sexual frustration was one sided. And it always would be.

"You were trying to drown yourself!" he growled, forcing his mind back to the matter at hand.

"Was not! I was asleep, not unconscious. Get the fuck out, Nero," she screamed, her arms trying to cover her chest and the curls between her legs.

He grabbed a towel from the side and held it out for her.

"I haven't finished yet," she shouted, grabbing the towel anyway.

"Yes you have," he growled. "Unless you want me to stand here and wait for you. I don't mind."

He locked his eyes with hers and saw them turn liquid gold. She was angry. Funny how in his dreams, they turned the same colour because she was turned on.

"Get. Out."

He folded his arms and stepped back from her, letting her know in no uncertain terms that he would stand there until she decided she'd finished.

Without saying another word to him, she stepped out of the tub and stormed into her room. Chuckling, he let the water out of the tub. She always thought she could win a war of wills with him, but her attempts were always pitiful.

When he walked into her room, she was pulling a pair of panties on under her towel and her hair was tumbling down her back, free of its protective confines. He could tell by her jerky movements and the look she threw him that she was just itching to punch him.

"We need to talk," he told her.

"I'm not talking to you."

He sauntered over to her bed and sat down.

"Well, you have to."

"I'm trying to get dressed," she snapped at him.

"Carry on," he smirked.

Keri crossed her arms and looked at him pointedly.

"What do you want? Be quick about it, I'm hungry," she snapped.

He wanted a lot of things. Things she was in no position to give him. So he had to content himself with what had brought him up here in the first place.

"What's happened to you?"

"Nothing. I already told you, I'm not in any trouble."

"I don't mean that. You seem different. Something must have happened."

"Nothing happened. Nothing changed. I'm just very tired," she answered. "Is that all?"

"Why are you tired? What have you been doing?"

"Nothing, really. Maybe I wasn't cut out for putting in regular hours at work," she shrugged.

There was that word again. Work. What the hell did she know about work?

"And what job do you have?"

"I'm a waitress."

She shouldn't have hesitated. And she shouldn't have looked away from his eyes. She was lying.

"Don't lie to me, Keri."

"Jeff, I've had enough of this. Get the fuck out, now. If I don't eat something quick I might pass out."

He wasn't going to give up that easily. He'd asked her a simple enough question. If she was doing something legal, like she claimed, she had no reason to lie. The sooner he assured himself that she was in no danger, the sooner he could just leave her be, forget she existed. It took a lot of effort to keep his feelings in check whenever she was around, so the less contact he had with her the better.

He got off the bed, but instead of walking to the door like she'd expected, he walked to stand right in front of her.

"Do you really want me to get it out of you myself?" he asked, his voice low and threatening.

She still didn't meet his eyes but he saw her swallow as she started messing with the corner of her towel as she leaned back against the dresser behind her.

He took a step closer, intentionally invading her space.

"Tell me."

"I don't have to tell you shit. Just get out of here."

He took another step. This one brought his body only a hair's breath away from hers. It wasn't a good idea, considering his already aroused state, but it was the easiest way to intimidate her. He'd done it enough times over the years to know how well it worked. Hell, it would probably intimidate anyone as small as she was.

"I'm not afraid of you."

"No? Well, you should be," he said with deceptive softness.

"What you going to do? Spank me?" she asked with a chuckle.

He heard the uneasiness behind the chuckle and smiled.

"If you wish," he said as he let his hand trail the silky brown strands down the side of her face. "But I'm sure I can be more inventive."

Her head snapped up, and again he saw the confusion in her eyes. She was probably trying to work out if his threat had a sexual undertone. It did. But she would never know that. She would think he was threatening her with physical violence again, something he did a lot but would never ever carry out.

"So? What's it going to be?"

"Jeff, not now. Please," she whispered.

She was begging him... _him_!

She _never_ begged him.

The hell was going on here?

This momentarily disarmed him, but he got his thoughts back in order quickly.

"I just need to know what's going on," he said firmly. "Are you sick? Is that what it is?"

"No... Well, a little, but I'm better now," Keri sighed, still looking away from him.

"What did the doctor say?"

"I didn't see one. It was just a bug."

"Just a bug? Keri, you look like shit. And I feel like something's really, really wrong."

"Gee, thanks," Keri snapped, lifting her palms up to try and push him away.

The moment her hands came into contact with his chest, he felt the usual stabbing arousal shoot through him.

It was only from years of experience that he was able to pretend her touch wasn't burning him.

"I'm going to take you to a doctor. Get dressed," he ordered.

"Jeff, I said not now. I'm still tired and I'm really hungry. I don't have the strength to deal with you."

"I'll make you a sandwich to eat in the car," he persisted.

Keri dropped her hands and sat back heavily on the dresser, dropping her head so her hair fell in her face.

"Please..."

Begging again? The fuck?!

He'd never been one to fall for any of the manipulative shit she did like the others did; not the eyelid batting, not the stupid giggles that made other men think they were the best thing since sliced bread, not the little touches here and there.

But this was... different.

"Matt's going to come home soon and he'll agree with me. You need to see a doctor," he said again.

Keri didn't say a word but her shoulders started shaking.

Was she laughing? What the hell was so funny? All he was trying to do was look out for her. Maybe he shouldn't bother. It wasn't as if she ever thanked him.

He lifted her face up roughly by her chin to tell her a few truths but words got stuck in his throat when he saw something he'd never seen on her face before.

Tears. Fucking _tears_.

What the fuck?!

He'd never seen her cry before.

He knew she cried, what female didn't, but she'd never done it in front of him before because he was always waiting to exploit any form of weakness on her, to use it as ammunition in their never ending war. Now he didn't know what to do. Matt was better suited to this situation than he was. Matt would have hugged her and told her everything was going to be alright, shit like that. But _he_ couldn't do it. It would be too weird.

Those weren't crocodile tears, either. She was in real pain. And those tears were pulling at him, tugging at places inside him that were completely out of bounds to Keri.

He stepped back from her quickly and stuck his hands in his pockets, completely freaked out, completely out of his depth.

"Um, I'll go and make you something to eat," he said quickly, retreating to the door without looking at her face again. "Matt should be here soon, I'll tell him you need him."

Yes, Matt would deal with this better than him. Then maybe he'd find out what the hell was going on.

* * *

By the time she walked downstairs Keri was herself again. She had no idea what had come over her but she'd been feeling very emotional lately. She could cry at the drop of a hat if it suited her but this was way different. She was just getting too sensitive about everything. Maybe it meant she really was ready to leave her fast life behind and settle down with a cat or two.

Pft! If only. As soon as she was completely over this bug she would be herself again.

There was no one else home but she found Jeff in the kitchen, the makings of a sandwich in front of him at the island. The moment she walked in he held a cucumber in his hands against his chest, like it was some sort of shield – or weapon - as he eyed her warily with a slight frown on his face.

She almost laughed. If she'd known her tears had this effect on him, she would have used them more often. The man looked at her like she was growing horns or something, like he didn't quite know what to make of her.

"Matt still out?"

"Yeah. But I told him to hurry home, he'll be here any minute."

"You told him to drop what he was doing and come home? Why?"

Jeff shrugged, still frowning, still holding the cucumber to him.

"You were crying," he answered finally.

This was when she did burst out, almost doubling over when the laughter caused her stomach to hurt.

"You called your brother to come home because I was crying?"

She cried on Matt's shoulders all the freaking time. He wouldn't be pleased when he came home and realised this was the reason he'd been summoned.

As if on cue, Matt burst into the house, calling Jeff's name.

"He's in here," she called out, eager to see how this would play out.

"Keri? I thought..." Matt voice trailed off when he came into the kitchen and saw the big smile on her face. "You don't look hurt to me."

"You told him I was hurt?" she asked, laughing again as she turned to look at Jeff.

"I told him you were crying and something was very wrong with you," Jeff stated, finally putting his cucumber down.

"You told me she was hurt real bad and you didn't know what to do," Matt corrected. "Then you told me to drop everything and hurry the fuck home."

She picked up a piece of tomato from the sandwich Jeff had been making and chuckled.

"You know, Nero, you can be fuckin' hilarious when you want to be," she said, grabbing the whole sandwich and putting it on a plate before she grabbed a can of beer and walked past Matt. "Sweetheart, lets catch up by the pool. I feel like lying in the sun for a little bit."

"Be with you in a second," Matt said. "I just need a word with my brother."

She was still laughing when she pulled her clothes off by the poolside and revealed her little bikini before settling herself in a lounger and digging into her food.

* * *

"She was crying _at_ you?"

"Yes," he stated simply. "Her fucking tears were everywhere."

The corner of Matt's lips twitched a little.

"Don't you dare laugh at me," he warned. "The fuck was I supposed to do? _Hold_ her?"

"I can tell you what you were _not_ supposed to do," Matt said. "I left all our shopping by the checkout because I thought something was really wrong."

"Something _is_ wrong. She doesn't cry in front of me, you know that. And she says she's lost all that weight because she caught a bug, but the stupid idiot hasn't even seen a doctor to confirm it. I _know_ there's something wrong with her."

Matt sighed but didn't argue. Maybe because he believed him. Even under the baggy t-shirt Keri was wearing now no one could deny she didn't look well at all.

"I'll have a word with her," Matt said. "But you have to go get the groceries and pay for them."

"No problem," he said, already making his way out of the kitchen.

Anything was better than having Keri cry at him again and bring out feelings in him that he didn't want to feel.

"Make sure you make her see a doctor," he instructed by the door. "And tell her not to do that shit to me again. It's freaky."

"What? Crying?" Matt asked with a chuckle.

He glared at his brother. He didn't want to examine what he'd felt when he'd seen those damned tears on Keri's face, so if his brother said one more word about it he would floor him.

"Just tell her not to do it again," he growled before walking out of the kitchen.

* * *

"So what happened?" Matt asked as he sat on a lounger next to Keri.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I'm just really tired and I've been pushing myself even when I wasn't well, so I think it's all caught up with me. I couldn't deal with Jeff's bullying and he just wasn't going away."

"Jeff says you need to see a doctor."

She grunted and finished her sandwich.

"I think you should, too. You don't look too good, Keri," Matt added.

"It was just a bug, Matt. I was a lot worse, I couldn't keep any food down at all and I had no strength to do anything. But I'm over the worst now. In a week or so, I'll be as good as new," she assured him. "Let's not waste time making unnecessary appointments."

"Please. For my peace of mind. You know I worry about you," Matt said.

Darn it! How was it that he always knew how to make her do what he wanted? She knew she always caused him worry, even though it was the last thing she wanted. He needed all his concentration at that silly job of his. It could only take one wrong move for him to never get back up from that ring again. God forbid that ever happened but the last thing she would want if it did was to have it on her conscious.

"Okay," she sighed. "But not today. I just want to rest."

"I'll make an appointment for you for tomorrow, then," Matt smiled, reaching out to steal the rest of her beer.

"Where's the Demon child? I'd have thought he'd have wanted to see me give in to what he wanted."

"He's gone to get the groceries," Matt chuckled. "But he's told me to tell you not to cry at him again."

"Cry _at_ him?"

"Yeah," Matt laughed.

"Imagine how much stress I'd have saved myself if I'd known I could get him off my back by crying," she laughed too. "I think I've found Nero's kryptonite."

"Hmm. I think you have," Matt mused.

She looked over at him and saw the thoughtful look on his face.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," Matt smiled. "I'm going to get another beer. Want one?"

She watched Matt walk off without waiting for her answer and scowled. Matt could be as mysterious as his brother when he wanted to be. It was fucking irritating.

* * *

**AN/ Thank you to those who reviewed the first chapter, World's Biggest Jerichoholic, Bingobaby, and for those who put this on their alerts and favs. Much appreciated.**

**I'm just building the story up bit by bit right now but I swear there'll be plenty of the sex I mentioned before. lol. Please read and review. And don't forget to run over to read Amazing Grace.**

**Much love.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Shorter than the others. Sorry. **

* * *

Keri heard the loud voices in the house and knew straight away that her friends were finally there.

As soon as they stepped out back, she was engulfed in large muscular arms as all said hello to her. It always felt good to be with them because she genuinely felt like they loved her, like she belonged. They were just the right mix of crazy and sensible that she felt she fit in. Shane, Shannon, Kimo, Yuk and their girlfriends. And of course Matt and Legend. The family she had hand-picked. It would have been so perfect if Jeff wasn't there.

She hadn't seen him for the remainder of the afternoon but as soon as the gang bustled out back, he had walked out and gone straight for the grill to get a fire for the barbeque going.

They never needed a good reason to throw a party. She remembered that once, when they'd been totally bored, Jeff had decided to throw a party for her finally getting her period.

That was, quite possibly, the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to her. That little shit had called up everyone he knew and told them. Since she'd had no real female influence in her life – her mother had failed dismally in that front and all she'd had then, before her mother had graced them all with the twin brat sisters of hers, were her uncle and his son, Ronnie - she'd been totally freaked out. Matt had been such an angel and explained what was happening. She had been sixteen at the time, a late bloomer, and knew all this stuff had been covered in Sex Ed or Biology at school but everyone knew she'd bunked that as often as she could. And when she'd attended, her mind had always been elsewhere. So naturally, she'd thought she was dying. Jeff had laughed his head off. She'd thought she was dying and the prick had just laughed at her.

"Hey, I got you some food," Caitlyn said as she came to sit next to her.

Caitlyn was Shane's girl, fucking awesome girl as well. She'd personally vetted her, because everyone knew she didn't like girls messing them around. When she didn't like one of their girls, she always made sure they didn't stick around. Except Jeff's girls. She never got involved in that. She couldn't give a shit if he dated a murdering whore.

"Thanks, Caitlyn," she smiled as she took it from her and set it down on the table beside her before giving the girl a fierce hug.

"So where did you go this time?" Caitlyn asked. "We missed you."

Everyone always joked about her inability to be in one place for a long time. She got bored easily; there was just nothing she could do about that. Plus the longer she stayed in one place the more likely her past was to catch up with her.

"Just around," she said vaguely.

She wasn't really in the mood to explain what she'd been doing. All of her friends would probably have a fit if they ever found out.

"Oh, you've got secrets again," Caitlyn deduced with a laugh. "You haven't killed anyone, have you?"

"I wish," she muttered.

She saw Jeff come out of the house with a couple of beers and scowled when his eyes found hers. He scowled back and made his way to where she was sitting. Obviously, he'd put the morning behind him. In seconds, he was pulling a chair right next to her, earning himself an amused look from Caitlyn. Everyone knew Jeff never intentionally sat next to her if he could help it.

He didn't say a word. He just sat there with a beer in his hand and this irritated her more than if he'd actually said something.

The guy was just an irritating, arrogant, bossy shit. She didn't know what it was but he'd always rubbed her up the wrong way. She couldn't understand it, but it was there. Fifteen years she had known these boys, but she still couldn't bring herself to like him, not even a little bit.

"Matt says he made you an appointment for tomorrow afternoon," he said after the long, uncomfortable silence.

She only managed a grunt of disgust. She didn't like being forced into something she didn't want to do, which Jeff somehow managed to make her do all the time.

"I wanna come with you."

She spat her drink out because she almost choked on it.

"What? Why?"

Why would he intentionally spend time with her? And what would posses him to think she would allow it?

"I want to make sure the doctor checks you out thoroughly."

"Because his years and years of med school don't make him qualified enough to tell me if anything's wrong?"

"No, because I don't trust you not to downplay how bad you're feeling. Something's wrong with you, Keri. I've told you this before."

"Why don't you just go away? Honestly. Go find something else to amuse yourself with."

"I'm coming with you," Jeff stated firmly.

"The hell you are! Besides, aren't you busy tomorrow? Aren't you supposed to be holed up in your room, shootin' up while you paint the rubbish you paint, or some other fucked up shit like that?" she snapped, giving him a cold smile in the process.

Jeff bared his teeth as his green gaze narrowed on her.

"Bitch," he growled.

"Prick," she growled back.

"Why don't you do everyone a favour and just go back where you fuckin' came from."

"_You_ go back where you came from. Oh, I forgot. You burnt that fucker down."

"Guys," Caitlyn warned.

She bit her teeth against saying anymore, though God knew Jeff deserved it, especially after the shit he'd pulled in her room earlier.

She wasn't normally like this, but nasty things always came out of her mouth when Jeff was around.

She wasn't as bad as Jeff made her sound. Well, not really. Not intentionally, anyway. Shannon said she suffered from a very bad case of Foot and Mouth disease; she just couldn't help putting her foot in her mouth, even when there was the least chance of that happening. But at least he and the other guys just laughed it off. Jeff was a different story. He called her a spoilt and arrogant bitch for it.

What Jeff thought didn't matter anyway. She thought he was a hopeless, stuck up prick, so she couldn't give a shit what he thought about her.

"I'll be waiting for you in my car after lunch tomorrow," Jeff said after another silence.

"Give it up already, Jeff!" she snapped.

"No," he answered easily.

"I'll just go see what Shane is up to," Caitlyn said with a sly smile as she got up.

Keri rolled her eyes, hoping against hope that Jeff would just go away too.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She looked at him like he was losing his mind. What made him think she would voluntarily confide in him, even if there _was_ something wrong? After his caveman tactics earlier...

"Well, let me see.... you're all up in my face," she snapped. "Go away, Nero."

But he didn't. He just sat there looking at her and lazily sipping his beer.

Choosing to ignore him, her eyes scanned the rest of the guys, stopping when they met with Matt's eyes.

He was an incredible guy. She was a total screw up mostly, but he'd never turned his back on her, not even once. After they'd met so many years ago, she'd been sure he'd leave her, just as everyone in her life has left her, but he'd stood with her longer than her own blood had. That made him more of family to her than her real family.

He was a big guy; tall, dark and handsome; muscular, totally jacked and all. He had women throwing their panties at him everywhere he went and she could understand why. He was a hunk. Women threw their panties at Jeff as well, though she'd never understand that! Who'd ever think Jeff was gorgeous? It was sickening! Matt was stable, solid, completely dependable. Jeff... well, not so much. Actually, not even a little. They were complete opposites in everything. Matt had no tattoos, he was always clean shaven and his long dark hair was always tidy, even when he left it down. Jeff was tattooed to fuck, coloured his hair different every goddamn day and was basically just unstable. Some girls could think he was built to fuck as well, but guys like him just didn't do it for her. She liked bad boys but Jeff... well, he was Jeff.

"Do you understand me? I'm coming with you whether you like it or not," Jeff stated.

She looked at him again and saw in his eyes that he really believed what he was saying. But there was nothing wrong with her. Jeff got like that a lot of times, when he saw something no one else did then sank his teeth in it until he got answers.

Well, she would just let him stew in his own imagination as long as he wanted to.

"Bite me," she smiled as she got up from her chair and pulled her t-shirt back on.

"You wish," Jeff muttered.

With a wide smile, she walked over to the fire where the rest of the guys were standing. Instead of ruining her day, Jeff had made it a whole lot better. She knew this little mystery in his head would frustrate him. He thought she had something he desperately needed, and when he got like that he was usually putty in anyone's hands. Well, until he decided he didn't need whatever it was that he thought she had. He was just weird like that.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Matt asked when she was finally tucked safely under his arm by the grill.

"Of course."

"What you been doing to yourself, Cherry? You look like shit," Shane asked, pointing the camcorder she'd given him as a Christmas present at her.

She smiled at his nickname for her. He was the only one who called her that, thankfully. The last thing she wanted to explain was how that name came to be - though one would have to be pretty dumb not to get it.

"Gee, thanks. You make me feel so special," she grunted sarcastically.

"No, he's right," Shannon said as he inspected her closer. "You look pretty done in."

"I'll be alright after I rest a little," she said.

She noticed Jeff walk up to the rest of the guys and steeled herself for another round of insults. But Jeff said nothing. He just looked at her as he continued to drink his beer. His eyes narrowed but didn't leave hers. He was doing that freaky thing he did; reading her like an open book. She hated it when he did that. She always tried her best to hide what she was feeling or thinking but he got it all the time.

She'd never admit that openly though.

"So how long are you home, this time?" Shannon asked.

"A while. I don't have anything to rush for."

She noticed Jeff frown, as if something she'd said didn't make sense. What had she told him? That she was waitressing? That had been such a stupid thing to say. That job wouldn't be interesting enough to hold her attention for long, Jeff knew this. No wonder he hadn't believed her.

"Good. It's nice having you home," Yuk smiled.

She smiled back, even though his girlfriend standing next to him frowned. She was still new, and she hadn't had a chance to grill her of her intentions yet. There would be time for that later. She had a while after all, until she had to return to reality.

Jeff didn't bother her again for the rest of the day, though he kept watching her. She had a feeling he was just waiting for her to break down and cry again. The man was very weird. But she managed to ignore him, too tired to even fight with him like she normally did.

She still felt tired and there was some nasty smell somewhere making her feel ill so she decided on an early night.

"Eat something first," Matt said when she told them all she was going to bed.

"I've had something already," she said.

And if she was to eat anymore now, she didn't think she would keep it down. After kissing everyone, except Jeff, goodnight, she made her way upstairs and was asleep before her bed even hit her pillow.

She didn't notice that Jeff had followed her up. And she certainly didn't see the frown on his face when he walked in and saw her already asleep, still dressed, on top of the covers.

* * *

"Hey. You alright?" Matt asked when he walked over to his brother later that night.

"Yeah. Why shouldn't I be?" Jeff asked, throwing the butt of a smoke away.

"You're not still freaking out about earlier, are you? Trust me, Jeff, she cries all the time," he chuckled.

He laughed harder when Jeff threw him an angry glare. All day his brother had been taunted by the guys because of the earlier incident, especially by Shannon who'd kept screaming, "She's crying at me! Save me, Mattie, save me."

"What? It was funny," he said, defending himself when Jeff kept glaring. "But seriously, though. Why are you so worried about her? It's not like you."

"Just because I don't like her doesn't mean I wish bad things on her," Jeff growled.

But he avoided his eyes as he said this, confirming his earlier suspicions. There was more going on here than Jeff was willing to tell him.

"You always wish bad things on her," he grunted, then, seeing how affected his brother was, added, "She'll be alright, man. The doctor will confirm it tomorrow."

"What if she isn't?" Jeff asked.

He frowned a little at his brother's words. The way Jeff was acting, you would have thought he actually cared about Keri. Well, that wasn't fair. He knew his brother cared about her, no matter how hard he tried to prove the contrary. But he'd never been so openly concerned before.

"She'll be fine. But I was thinking," he continued. "How would you feel if Keri came to live with us permanently?"

He saw the panicked look on Jeff's face and had to stop himself from laughing.

"I'd probably shoot myself first."

* * *

**AN/ Thank you very much for the reviews to the last chapter. And for those who've already put if on favs... wow. Thanks. Hope you'll all stick with me while I build this story up. Enjoy.**


	4. Chapter 4

Keri hadn't waited for him to drive her to the doctor's like he'd told her. He was positively livid.

He'd looked in on her when he'd got up and seen her fast asleep on her bed. Dead to the world. Matt must have gone in after him the previous night and thrown a blanket on her but she'd still been fully dressed.

He'd lounged around the house all morning, just watching Matt take her some food up or run around for her like he usually did – the poor sod. But then lunch time had come and he'd gone up to his room to get ready.

When he'd gone downstairs, Matt had been just coming into the house after seeing her off. And to make matters worse, he'd found out she'd taken his car.

"She said you gave her the keys and said she could use it," Matt shrugged.

"And you believed that shit?" he asked with irritation. "What would make you think I'd ever do something like that for that witch?"

"Maybe the fact that, since she came yesterday, you've been uncharacteristically worrying about her."

"I _do not_ worry about Keri!"

Why did it seem he was just constantly repeating himself?

He stormed into the lounge and dropped himself in a chair, arms folded across his chest as he thought of all the things Keri could do to his beloved car just to piss him off. The last time she'd had the keys to it she'd tried to sell it.

"Can you do me a favour?" Matt asked as he followed him and sat across him.

"What?"

"Tell Keri she's coming on the road with us."

"What?" he spat out. "Why?"

That was the last thing he'd want. Having her close 24/7? He'd be a complete wreck!

"She needs looking after. I have a feeling she got herself into trouble again."

"Has she said anything?" he asked.

"No. It's just a feeling. I don't really want to leave her here by herself."

"She'll have Shannon. And I'm sure Kimo and Yuk won't mind dropping by when they come back from the road."

"Jeff, just tell her."

"Why do I have to do it?"

"Because she listens to you."

He scowled. Keri didn't listen to him. It was just that he always managed to threaten her into doing what he wanted. And it helped that he never fell for those big eyes like everyone else did – which was pathetic, if you asked him. How the hell had she managed to wrap everyone round her little finger like that? Actually, how the hell could everyone not see the cold, vindictive bitch she was underneath all that fake sweetness?

"I don't want her on the road with us," he insisted. "She could ruin everything for me."

Especially with Maria. His girlfriend was quite good at telling when something was bothering him.

"No she won't. If she ruins things for you at work, she'd be ruining them for me, too. I'll owe you really big if you do this for me," Matt said. "Besides, you're the one who's been worrying since she got here that there was something wrong with her."

"I do not worry about Keri," he snarled, repeating his words again.

Why wasn't his brother listening to him?

"Whatever. But if she's with us, at least we can keep an eye on her and make sure everything's okay."

"She'll make my life a living hell."

In more ways than his brother knew.

"Jeff, come on. I won't be able to concentrate on anything if we leave her."

He sighed. His brother really knew how to play his cards. Wrestlemania was coming up in a few weeks, with it their big match, the one they'd dreamed off since they were kids. If his head wasn't in the game then the match would be ruined and this feud they had going at work would have been for nothing.

"Fine. But you have to keep her away from me."

Work was where he went to get away from Keri. Now he'd have nowhere to run. This couldn't end well.

"Thanks Jeff. I'm going to head off for a while so she cools off about it before I see her. Call me when she comes and tell me what the doctor said, though."

Jeff must have sat waiting for her for hours. Matt had already run away like the coward he was and was spending the day at Shane's. That meant he'd had a whole lot of time to just think.

To think what a living hell he'd just agreed to put himself into.

He would be in constant contact with Keri, day and night.

The sound of her voice turned him on, her cheap perfume turned her on, everything about her turned him on. How the hell was he going to hide that from everyone for so long?

It was a stupid idea. Matt would just have to find another way to make sure she was safe. He couldn't do that to himself. He just couldn't.

So when she walked into the house shortly after that, he was more than prepared _not_ to relay Matt's message.

But she looked terrible and all his earlier worries returned.

He waited until she'd thrown herself onto a chair before he asked what the doctor had said.

"He said what I said. It's just a bug," she answered in irritation. "I just need to rest, drink plenty of fluids and eat well."

"Was he sure?"

She just looked at him and rolled her eyes.

So if she wasn't sick, then Matt was right. She was in trouble. That meant he had no choice but to tell her she was coming on the road with them so he could keep an eye on her.

Damnit!

"I want you to pack enough clothes for a week. You're coming with us tomorrow," he stated.

"_What?"_

"You've been lying to me since you came yesterday. You're in trouble again and I can't trust you not to do something stupid if we leave you on your own."

"I'm not in trouble! And even if I was, I'm twenty-fucking-four. You can't tell me what to do," Keri snapped. "The fuck do you think you are?"

"Matt thinks you're in trouble. He's worried to death about you," he said, his eyes on the road. "I couldn't care less if someone was to walk into that house and beat the crap out of you or even kill you. But Matt would be devastated. So I'm telling you now; you're coming on the road with us until Matt trusts that everything's okay."

She muttered curses under her breath but didn't say another word to him. Mentioning how worried Matt was had done the trick as it normally did. Honestly, if it wasn't for how much she was scared of losing Matt, he probably wouldn't have talked her out of most of the shit she'd done. He wasn't proud of using his brother's love against her like that, but it had the desired effect.

And he was quite positive Matt knew by now what a demon he'd brought into the family anyway, even if he always defended her.

She was still muttering to herself when he picked the remote control for the stereo up, so he was sure he hadn't heard the last of this. Keri never gave in without a major fight. He was willing to bet the moment she stopped swearing at him she would launch herself at him. She did that sometimes when they argued; she took the fights to the next level. He never fought back of course; he didn't hit women no matter how vile they were.

He bit his lip to stop himself groaning when he remembered some of the times she'd attacked him. For a little thing, her punches hurt like hell. Sometimes he lay there and took the punches. Other times, he restrained her. These were the only times he got to feel her little body all up on his, writhing against him as she tried to get a few good blows in. And it was always heaven and hell combined.

One day.

One day he'd get to sleep with her. He just didn't know how, yet.

But it didn't happen like that. She didn't launch herself at him.

At first he thought she'd rushed out of the room to look for Matt and try to convince him what a bad idea this was. So he followed her lazily, knowing Matt had already disappeared to avoid the situation.

But then he heard the loud retching coming from the kitchen.

"You couldn't have done that outside, before you came into the house?" he snapped in disgust, stopping at the door when he saw her pitiful frame bending over the sink.

But she didn't even acknowledge him. She ran the water and splashed some on her face before she lay her head down on the cool counter next to the sink and groaned.

God, she looked terrible. How could this doctor say she wasn't sick when it so clearly wasn't the case? She looked really, really tiny and it hit him again how much weight she'd lost. She'd worn a baggy t-shirt but the way she was leaning, he thought he could actually see a few bones jutting out. She looked tinier than before, like she was about to break.

He didn't like feeling anything towards her but he could feel something tugging at his heart which felt suspiciously like protectiveness. Of course, he'd always protected her, but only because he'd had to, only because if he hadn't Matt would've blamed him for it.

This protectiveness was different, like he actually _wanted_ to take care of her, to make her feel better.

Slowly, he walked towards her and grabbed a cloth from the side before putting it under the running water and wringing it out. Then her pushed her hair out of her face and gently wiped her forehead. She felt really warm to his touch and he mentally kicked himself for not going to the doctor's with her, anyway. He could have taken Matt's car. Maybe his presence there would have pushed the doctor to do more.

She needed taking care of. She needed protecting.

He couldn't understand where these feelings were coming from.

The hatred and all the emotions that came with it were easier to deal with. The sexual frustrations... well, those could be easily taken care of by a few sweaty nights if he ever got the chance. In the mean time, Maria was taking care of them well enough.

But the protectiveness... that was completely alien. He didn't know what to do with it.

He couldn't be nasty to her now, because at this point in time it would seem like kicking a little kitten. And he wasn't a nasty man, anyway. It was just that Keri was... well, she was Keri. She brought out the worst in him.

So what the hell was he supposed to do?

"You okay?" he asked.

Obviously, that question coming from him shocked her as much as it shocked him.

"Yeah," she answered awkwardly, pushing his hand away so she could sit at the kitchen table.

He sat down awkwardly in the chair opposite her. He didn't know why, he could have just easily left the room. She'd said she was okay. That was all he needed to know. So what the fuck was he still doing there?

He watched her for a moment. Her eyes were trained on him suspiciously as she sat in silence. Damn, she looked really bad. He was sure now that the doctor had got it wrong and something was indeed wrong with her. Hopefully the tests he would do would provide some better answers and they could get her back to normal again.

And then everything else would just fall into place. The protectiveness would go away. The awkwardness would go away.

"I'm guessing nothing I can say now will convince you that I'm alright," she stated with a sigh.

He shook his head.

"Can you get me some water?" she sighed.

He smiled a little when he realised she wasn't going to fight him on it anymore. It was probably the easiest argument he'd ever won.

"You've only won because I let you win," she said as if she'd read his mind. "We both know you can't make me do anything I don't want to do."

He laughed out loud at that one. He _always_ made her do things she didn't want to do. Of course that one worked both ways. Keri could be quite manipulative when she wanted to be, and often he played into her hands like an idiot.

"Of course not," he smiled.

"Glad you agree with me," she said with a smile of her own.

It wasn't one of her fake ones. It wasn't even one of the evil ones. It was a genuine smile. Directed at him. And it felt freaking good.

But it disappeared quickly from her face as she looked away from him and cleared her throat.

Had he just had _a moment_ with her?

Fucking hell! This shit was getting crazier by the second.

"Um... I'll get you some water, and then maybe you should go lie down," he said as he quickly stood up. "I'll bring you some food up later, if you want."

He didn't wait for an answer as he put a glass of water in front of her then quickly walked out of the room.

Something was going very, very wrong. First the tears, then protectiveness and now the freaking smiles...

It was a lot easier dealing with wanting to fuck her. He could fuck her even though he didn't like her. People did that all the time. Then they moved on. That was nothing to panic over.

But this...

He needed to purge whatever else he was feeling from his system, before he even had a chance to think about it.

* * *

By the time he took a snack up to her room, he was back to normal again. He'd assured himself there was nothing to panic about. He was a good person; he would have felt that way about anyone had they looked as bad as Keri had earlier.

So everything was fine.

She was still sleeping so he left her food on the bedside table and quickly walked out. He'd wanted to look at her while she was sleeping, so badly... But that wouldn't have been good for his state of mind.

Because he still wanted to nail her. Real, real bad.

Matt walked in just as he walked down the stairs.

"Where is she?" he asked straight away.

"Asleep."

Matt sighed in relief and walked ahead into the sitting room.

"What did the doctor say? You didn't call me like I asked, I was worried."

He hadn't called because he'd been too busy freaking out.

"He said she's just got a bug," he answered as he dropped himself into one of the chairs. "But she really is sick. She threw up earlier and she looks really bad."

"So do you think it's a good idea, bringing her on the road with us like that?"

"It's better than leaving her here by herself. Someone has to make sure she eats and takes care of herself."

"And that someone is you, is it?" Matt chuckled.

"No. It's you. She's your problem now."

"I'm just saying, you've never been this concerned about her before," Matt said. "It just seems... odd."

"Well, don't get used to it. I'm not dealing with her anymore," he said firmly as he found the TV remote.

Matt chuckled and stood up.

"I'm going to get dinner started before I make travel arrangements for her."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Matt. You know what she's like," he warned.

Matt sighed.

"She won't mess anything up for us, Jeff."

"Maybe not for you," he grumbled.

"She knows what wrestling means to us. She won't get into trouble."

He wished he had his brother's optimism.

"I'll have to have a word with Vince first chance I get so she's allowed access backstage. I don't want to step on his toes."

He grunted.

"Good luck with that."

Their boss hadn't been in a good mood lately, and since the Hardy feud wasn't getting as good ratings as he wanted, he'd hardly be in a mood good enough to allow Keri to stay. Normally Vince encouraged friends and family backstage, but when he was walking around like a sore bear... Well, he didn't want to be in Matt's shoes.

The rest of the night didn't go quite so smoothly.

Keri came downstairs looking so much better. The sickly pallor had left her face but that disturbing glow was back. But he couldn't focus on that when the tiny shorts she wore stole all his thoughts. The girl had a butt on her; that was for damn sure! Yes. Definitely made for wearing those indecent little things.

He crossed his legs to hide his reaction. It only ever took seconds to get him like that. It was a wonder no one had ever noticed.

"Hey, baby. You feeling better?" Matt asked when she dropped herself on the chair next to him and into his arms.

See, if he was his brother, he'd have done her right there and then, right through that damned couch, right till her back broke.

"Much," she smiled, pinning her legs underneath herself and making herself more comfortable before wrapping her arms around Matt's torso.

He watched the way her face lit up when she smiled. God, how was he supposed to handle being around her for so long at work? He'd be able to hide among his co-workers but the fact still remained that she'd be there. Close. Everywhere he went.

Did Matt say how long she'd be on the road with them? They would be back home in a little over a week, maybe by that time Matt would feel it was safe enough to leave her home alone. Maybe.

His thoughts were again disrupted when he heard her laugh. She never laughed with him, of course, but he'd always thought it was a beautiful sound. It was just a shame that he knew how fake it was. Everything she did was designed to make those around her notice her, fall under her spell, buy her bullshit. It was after all, why she was such a successful little scammer.

Immediately, and thankfully, his thoughts turned to all the nasty things she had done, things that made her just a little bit less attractive. Less attractive enough for him to look away. Less attractive enough for him to think a little bit straighter through the fog.

He had to make the most of it while it lasted, before he became a mindless dick again.

"I'm going to bed," he grumbled.

"Thought we were watching a movie," Matt protested.

"Changed my mind."

He didn't look back as he walked out, and he had to run up the flight of stairs as if the hounds of hell themselves were after him. There was no way he was going to talk himself into watching that movie across from Keri. He couldn't torture himself like that.

The second he closed his bedroom door, he pulled his phone out and dialled a number. There was only one person who could balance things out now, only one person who could center him.

"_Hey, baby."_

"Hey, Ria. Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"_No. I just stepped out of my shower."_

He immediately pictured his girlfriend's wet, naked body.

Yes, this was the perfect antidote.

* * *

**I know Maria is the girlfriend in the other one, but like I said, I was only going to post one. Too late to change that now.**

**Thank you for your wonderful reviews. Always appreciated. I wish more of you would review, though. This story is getting enough hits, just not reviews. Thank you for taking the time to read, anyway. **

**So Keri's going on the road with them, and this is where shit starts to happen. She should have just said no, then none of it would have happened!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A short one but it's important. Enjoy.**

It was late afternoon when they walked through the doors of their hotel. Matt walked ahead to check all of them in while Shane lead Keri to the chairs in the lounge. Jeff just followed behind them at a safe distance, like he'd been doing the past few days.

This whole new relationship between him and Keri was driving him crazy. He didn't quite know how to explain it.

All he knew was that lately, instead of insulting her or threatening her, he'd bent over backwards to accommodate her every whim. Just like his brother and any other sorry fucker who came into contact with her.

He'd become one of them.

But it was only temporary. It had to be. The moment she looked 100% okay; he was washing his hands of her.

"How long is Matt going to be? I'm really tired," Keri whined as she made herself more comfortable.

"Not long," Shane assured her. "You'll be on your bed before you know it."

"You want something to eat first?" he asked, sitting down opposite them. "You hardly touched your lunch."

"I'll call room service after I've had a little nap," she answered. "I couldn't keep anything down if I had it now."

"You should try some of that sickness stuff I bought for you," he said.

"You bought her something?" Shane asked. "Matt's right, you _are_ being weird."

"She's sick. I can't be nice to her when she's sick?"

"You've never been before," Shane chuckled. "Remember the time she got that really bad flu and you near enough threw a party because she was bed ridden? Remember when she had chicken pox? How about when___"

"Okay, okay! I get it," he growled in irritation.

"So I'm struggling to understand," Shane continued. "This new thing going on here... is it because you're afraid she'll cry again."

Keri burst out laughing at this one but he only kissed his teeth and looked away. Everyone was still teasing him about that but couldn't they freakin' understand? For Keri to actually cry in front of him... it was weird.

"Who's that?" Keri asked after a while.

Both he and Shane turned to where she was indicating and saw Cena standing with his friend, Orton, at the front desk.

"Which one?" Shane asked.

Why? Why was she asking about men? She wasn't here to get her freak on! She was here to get better.

"The one with the really juicy butt."

Shane laughed and called out, "Cena!" to get the guy's attention.

"Should I be worried that you knew who I meant?" Keri chuckled as the two men looked back and saw Shane calling them over.

"Shut up!" Shane laughed just as the two men came to stand by them.

"Hey, Helms," John said. "Hey, Hardy."

"Hey," Shane answered.

He could only manage a grunt. Where the hell was Matt with their keys?

"I'd like to introduce you guys to our friend, Keri," Shane said as he put an arm around her. "She's travelling with us for a while."

"Hi," John smiled, nodding his head at her.

"Hey beautiful," Orton said, smiling his signature smile.

Jeff could even make out the invitation in the men's eyes. It was disgusting.

"Hi," Keri smiled shyly.

Yeah, like she was really shy. The little...

"So are you a fan of ours?" Cena asked.

"Ah... no, sorry. I don't even know who you are," Keri said a little apologetically.

"Well, that's just criminal. We need to rectify that straight away," Orton said as he sat on the couch on the other side of her and took her hand. "Randy. Randy Orton. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Then he took her hand to his mouth and kissed it. Keri looked like she was going to faint on the spot! Absolutely disgusting! He had to resist the urge to spit.

"The pleasure's all mine, Randy," Keri smiled.

"And I'm John Cena. You have a lovely smile, Keri."

"Wow," Keri said as she pretended to fan herself. "This... wow. You two are killing me here."

"We were about to grab a bite to eat and a few drinks," John said. "We would love it if you joined us."

"She can't," Jeff spat out.

They all turned to look at him but he didn't even bother explaining himself. He just scowled at the two men.

"Oh," Randy said, slowly letting go of Keri's hand as if something made sense to him. "Sorry man. I didn't realise."

What? Did he think he and Keri were together? The fuck?!

"She can't because she's recuperating," he growled out.

"Yeah. Sorry," Keri smiled. "Another time, maybe? I just need a couple of days to rest."

"Well, let me give you my number. Just in case you need help... relaxing," John smiled.

Keri didn't even hesitate handing him her phone. And that Orton didn't take his eyes off her for a second. He really felt like spitting.

"You know, this might sound like a line, but... don't I know you from somewhere?" Orton asked as Keri took her phone back.

"Um... I don't think so. I'd remember meeting you, Randy Orton," she smiled.

"No, really. I've seen you somewhere before... I can't help feeling I know you really, really well," Orton said softly, his eyes slowly trailing her body to let her know what he meant.

Orton and Keri? Please God, say it ain't so!

How could he sleep with someone who'd slept with _Orton_?

"Um... No. Sorry, Randy," Keri said with a little shrug.

But he saw the way she tensed up. He saw the way she avoided Randy's eyes. The little bitch was lying! She knew him from somewhere! But where?

"Don't mind him," Cena laughed. "He claims to know everybody."

"Just the ones worth knowing," Orton added with a smirk at Keri.

And the girl blushed! How could she fall for Orton's fake charm?

"Hey guys," Matt said as he finally walked over to them.

Thank God!

He got up quickly and picked up his and Keri's bags.

"C'mon Keri. You need to go lie down."

She looked at him with a look that said, 'can't you see I'm in the middle of something here?', but he didn't budge. With a sigh, she stood up and picked her handbag up.

"I'll see you guys later?" she asked.

"Count on it," Randy answered.

She smiled at them again before walking with Matt towards the elevators. He couldn't help just standing there a while, watching as both Orton and Cena followed her progress, their eyes obviously on a certain part of her anatomy.

He didn't like this at all. His only fear when he'd told her she was coming along with them was that he wouldn't be able to control himself.

Now he was afraid there would be other men, men who didn't repulse her, who wouldn't be able to control themselves either.

Would she be in one of their beds before the day was over?

He saw red just thinking about it. It was one thing to imagine her with her numerous boyfriends out there somewhere. It was quite another when the boyfriend was someone he knew, doing her right under his nose.

"Jeff?"

He snapped out of it to see Shane frowning at him next to him. He turned away from him without offering an explanation.

He stood behind her in the elevator, watching her laugh with Matt and Shane.

God, she was beautiful. How the hell would he get a piece of that? Just one night, it would be more than enough for him. One night, before she got more tainted by all the men in the WWE. He had to have her before everyone else. Because there was no denying now, that other men would find her as irresistible as he did and they'd do something about it. And Keri, being the whore she was, would just roll with it.

"Jeff, are you alright, man?" Shane asked.

"Yeah."

He didn't say anymore because he didn't want to betray his thoughts.

"Keri, I'm afraid you're going to have to share a room with Jeff and me for the next few nights," Matt said as the elevator came to a stop on the fourteenth floor.

"_What?!_"

They all turned to look at him. Shane laughed at him, obviously because he knew what a horrible situation Matt had set up – not the sexual frustration part, just the constant waring part. Matt only shrugged while Keri rolled her eyes at him.

Could he not see how sharing a room _just wouldn't work_?

"Everything's booked out till we get to New York," Matt explained as they walked out of the elevator. "You know how the fans get once they find out which hotel we're at."

He sighed and followed behind.

He wasn't sleeping in the same room as her. He wasn't torturing himself like that.

"Can I room with you tonight?" he asked Shane.

"No," Shane laughed as he walked the opposite way. "See you later, guys."

* * *

After the house show that night, they went back to their room to find Keri fast asleep. She'd changed into her sleep clothes – the damned t-shirt and panties – but she was still on top of the covers.

"Poor thing," Matt said as he switched the TV off. "What do you think she's been doing to herself?"

"Anything and everything, if history is anything to go by," he grunted, looking away when his brother went to scoop her up into his arms.

He didn't want to get any ideas in his head by looking at her.

"A little help here?"

Sighing, he walked over to them and turned down her bed covers. He didn't look at her even once.

"I'm going to shower," Matt stated after he'd made her comfortable. "I'm starving, could you order something for me?"

"Sure."

The second the bathroom door closed, he realised two things. One, he was alone with Keri. Two, _he was freakin' alone with Keri! _

Yes, she was sleeping, but that didn't make her any less appealing.

He couldn't help finally looking at her, knowing he'd just set himself up for another night of beautiful yet frustrating dreams!

The way her lips were slightly parted, the way her chest softly rose up and down. The way she looked... all vulnerable and trusting... and beddable.

He sat down on the other bed, his eyes not leaving her face for a second.

How could he want her so bad when he didn't even like her at all? What was it about her? What was it that pulled him... called him?

A little moan escaped her lips and his mind had no trouble imagining it had been a sexual one. His body went hard immediately. His eyelids became heavy and his breathing laboured as he continued to study the one thing he would probably never have.

He let out a groan. He couldn't remember ever feeling this way about anyone or anything else; feeling like he just had to have her or he'd die.

With a murmur, she kicked the covers off her body and turned so she was facing him. Her t-shirt had slid up her body, revealing the incredibly curved hips and her gorgeous thighs... and the little piece of v-shaped material that covered her where he wanted to be the most.

"The hell are you doing to me, Keri?" he whispered.

Was it possible to come without any sexual contact at all? He felt like it was. How could just watching someone work him up so much? He knew if he ever got the chance to be with her, it would be over in an embarrassingly short time. All he'd have to do would be to plunge into her... just once... not even the whole way...

He gripped the bed cover to stop himself from touching her. If he did that then he wouldn't be able to stop there. He'd want all of her. Every beautiful, smooth inch.

Her phone started ringing, disturbing his very dangerous thoughts. She stirred a little then opened her beautiful eyes to look straight into his. He couldn't look away, like those hazel eyes had hypnotised him.

"You're so beautiful, sweetheart," he whispered.

She gave him a little smile as her eyes closed again, and in seconds she was fast asleep. He knew she probably hadn't heard him, she probably hadn't even really seen him there. She wouldn't have smiled at him like that if she had.

He sighed and looked away, struggling to rein his thoughts in.

Keri wasn't safe here, alone with him.

Sharing a room was a very bad idea. What if he couldn't make it through the night? What if he decided he just had to have her?

He'd never force himself on her, but what if in the middle of the night he decided to let her know what he wanted from her and she screamed rape? What would that do to his relationship with his brother? And with the rest of his family and friends, for that matter.

He heard the shower stop and quickly got off the bed to walk out onto the balcony with his phone and cigarettes.

He'd order Matt some food and him a lot of alcohol. Maybe if he just passed out he wouldn't have those torturous dreams.

* * *

**AN/ Wonderful reviews, thank you very much xSamiliciousx and World's Biggest Jerichoholic. Hope you enjoy this one. I really hope I'm not writing this for just you two. lol. (I wouldn't mind, I'd write even for one person if they encouraged me.) **


	6. Chapter 6

He hadn't been successful in liquoring himself up enough to stop himself from dreaming, that first night or the one that followed.

In fact, his dreams seemed to be all the more potent now.

He woke up with his usual hard-on and looked over at where Keri lay in one of the beds. She'd have her own room in the next city. He had one more night to go through.

Two nights sleeping just meters away from her was killing him. His balls were permanently blue now.

Maria was at home, she wasn't due to join the gang till they got to New York so he couldn't even slip into her bed when he needed to.

He felt a little guilty when he thought of his girlfriend. When he'd asked her out, about six months back, the last thing he'd expected was to use her in this way. He couldn't understand how it had got so twisted. He loved her, he really did. She was sweet, she was nice. Not a nasty bone in her body. Nothing like Keri.

He'd asked her out because she'd been the only person he'd been really attracted to sexually since his fixation with Keri began. Of course, they'd been other women before, but nothing steady, nothing like what he'd felt for Maria. When he'd discovered he liked Maria like this, he hadn't hesitated. He'd thought the sick Keri thing was finally coming to its end and he was going to get his sanity back.

Only months into the relationship, he'd found his attraction to Keri stronger than before. And when he'd started having those dreams, he'd had no choice but to use Maria. That was what it had come down to. He was using her. Not intentionally, but that didn't make a difference.

But because he'd be damned if he let Keri ruin every single good thing in his life, ending things with Ria was not an option.

But it didn't make him feel any better that everytime he slept with her now, it was Keri he saw. That had to be like cheating, in some way, and cheating was something he detested with his whole being.

He looked back at the woman who unknowingly caused all his problems and sighed.

At least she was looking a bit better now. Maybe soon they could send her back home.

She'd been surprisingly no trouble since they left Matt's home. All she did was eat and sleep, which meant she'd hardly wandered from their hotel room. And that was good because it meant she hadn't been in touch with John and Orton. Though that didn't stop those men from asking about her. Orton seemed more persistent and he didn't like it. How the hell did they know each other from before? He'd asked Keri about it and she'd accused him of just trying to start a fight. Matt had intervened as usual... needless to say, that line of questioning hadn't offered any satisfying results. It was a good thing Orton was on the Raw roster and they didn't really see him that much.

Apart from throwing up again the other day, Keri seemed better. She seemed more herself. He knew she wouldn't get her weight back in just a few days, but Matt was making sure she ate regularly.

With a sigh, he got off the uncomfortable couch to take a shower. It had been his turn on it, since Matt had forfeited the bed the first night they had shared a room with her. Coupled with the dreams, that couch had made it quite possibly the worst night of his life.

* * *

"I want you two to behave. The whole McMahon family is here, I don't want anything going wrong before I've had a chance to speak to Vince about you tagging along with us. He needs to approve a backstage pass for you and maybe I can talk him into fitting you in on all the travel arrangements for at least a couple of weeks."

Keri just grumbled a response, not really awake yet. And she was feeling a bit queasy and the last thing she wanted was to be dragged down for breakfast. But Matt had insisted that she needed to get a bit of exercise and air.

"Did you guys hear me?"

Jeff mumbled something this time but she didn't hear what he said. Matt only shook his head and continued walking.

"I bet she'll have us thrown out of the restaurant before we've even sat down," Jeff muttered. "Her record currently stands at three minutes."

She rolled her eyes at him. The way he was talking, one would believe Jeff was a saint. But that man was as much of a screw up as she was.

The smell of food assaulted her nose the second they walked into the restaurant, and any little pangs of hunger she'd felt before disappeared. She knew she wouldn't be able to eat anything. Damnit, she'd really thought she was over this bug. Was a bug supposed to last this long? Well, maybe, since she hadn't been taking care of herself at all until a few days ago.

They found a table in the busy restaurant, Jeff and Matt stopping occasionally to greet someone. But she didn't stop to be introduced. She'd never been a morning person, so being forced up at such an ungodly hour was a big no. With her job, she normally got in, in the early hours and didn't get out of bed again until well into the afternoon.

"Hey, Cherry."

She smiled up when she saw Shane sit next to her.

"Hey, babe," she answered, kissing him on the cheek.

"You look a lot better."

"I feel a lot better. I might even be allowed to come to the bar for a drink later," she said.

She felt strong enough for that.

"Not until you're hundred percent."

"Not you, too," she muttered.

She'd been all but suffocated the last three days by Matt and surprisingly, Jeff. While she hadn't actually wanted to do anything except rest and get her strength back up, she was still miffed that Jeff had told her she couldn't actually do anything without asking. He'd even wrote down a list of freaking rules! What? Was she in kindergarten again?

So she was now completely bored out of her mind.

"I'm fine," she protested. "One drink won't hurt me!"

"No," Shane said as he picked the menu up, leaving no room for argument.

Eventually, the other men joined them. Matt sat across Shane while Jeff took the seat right across from her. She frowned at this, not really happy about facing him. It had been a weird few days, all their arguments had been unnaturally short lived mainly because Jeff hadn't rose up to the bait a single time. She didn't like that at all.

Then with all his waiting on her hand and foot... It was weird. She'd expected it of Matt, but Jeff? It was as if her illness was forcing a sort of camaraderie between them which would never have been there otherwise. She didn't feel like forcing herself to like him just because he was being nice for a change.

"What you lookin' at?" Jeff growled.

"Your ugly mug," she answered quickly with a smirk.

She didn't miss the annoyance that flashed in his eyes. That was more like it.

"I'm wondering how the hell I'm going to get any food down while your big head is right in front of me."

"I hope you choke on it," Jeff said quietly.

"Why, so you can try mouth to mouth on me, my big hero?" she shot back with another smirk, just a softly as him.

"Don't push it, kid," Jeff snarled.

"What you going to do, spank me?" she laughed, using the words she'd thrown at him days earlier when he'd had her trapped in her bedroom.

Jeff's green eyes narrowed angrily on her but he said nothing.

"Pussy!" she muttered, when she realised she wasn't getting anything more out of him.

Matt and Shane chuckled. She saw nothing funny about this situation at all. Lately they'd just taken to observing rather than getting in the middle of it, which, she had to admit, had to be a relief for them. She and Jeff _did_ fight too much. But that was just the way it was. The law of the jungle. Nothing would ever really change that. The way he was acting now would only be temporary.

She sighed and looked away from those irritating green eyes, just as the waiter came to take their order.

Jeff gave his order after Matt and Shane.

"I'll just have a cup of coffee please. Black, no sugar," she said, smiling at the waiter when it was her turn.

"She'll have what I'm having," Jeff cut in.

"I will _not_," she said firmly. "I'm not hungry, I'll eat something later."

"You _will_ eat something _now_," Jeff snapped.

"Listen here, you bossy shit," she started.

"Keri!" Matt cut in. "I said I want no trouble. Just eat something."

"But I feel sick, Mattie. I'll eat later."

Jeff just rolled his eyes, obviously not buying it.

"Okay. But make sure you order something when we get back upstairs," Matt said.

"Why do you always have to fall for that bullshit? All she has to do is bat her eyelashes at you and you're putty in her hands," Jeff said with disgust. "It's just sad."

She glared at him.

"Shut your mouth, I wasn't talking to you."

"I don't care what Matt says, you're eating now."

"You can't make me."

"Really?"

"Urgh! You're such a dick, Nero," she snapped.

"What you going to do? Spank me?" Jeff smirked, throwing her words back at her.

"Don't make me come over there and punch your face in."

Jeff only laughed at this, unknowingly drawing attention to them.

"I'd really like to see you try," he said between his laughs.

"I've taken you down before."

"That was just luck," he sneered, waving it off.

"I knocked you out!" she exclaimed in disbelief.

Trust a man not to admit he'd been beat by a woman.

"Because I let you. Come on! Do you really think you'd stand a chance against me?" Jeff laughed, adding softly, "Little girl."

She narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. He knew she hated being called little. She wasn't. It was just that they all seemed to be abnormally big.

"You wanna do this right now? Let's go," she hissed.

Jeff leaned forward, too, until his face was only an inch from hers.

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?" he whispered with a little smile. "Do you want me on top or on the bottom?"

"I wouldn't touch you to save my life!" she spat back.

God, he was so infuriating. Yet this was exactly what she'd asked for only moments before. It brought their relationship back to where it was supposed to be. So it was good. It was good that he was reminding her of what a jerk he really was. It was good that he was showing that the 'Mr. Nice Guy' thing was just an act. She didn't have to like him when he was like this.

"Really?" he chuckled. "What if I paid you?"

She gasped at his insinuation before she grabbed him by the front of his t-shirt, ready to kill him. But he only laughed harder.

"You disease ridden___"

"Guys, Vince and his family are over there," Matt cut in. "And they're watching you. Cool it."

Reluctantly, she let Jeff go, ignoring the amused glint in his emerald eyes as he settled himself back in his seat. He thought he'd won, but she wasn't going to let it go that easily.

She turned to see Vince sitting with his two beefy looking guys; one with his hair in a ponytail and the other with his greying hair neatly styled. She wasn't really a big fan of wrestling, even though all her real friends worked in the industry; so even though the men looked familiar, she didn't remember their names. In all the years she'd known Matt, Jeff, Shannon, Shane and the rest of the gang, they'd managed to drag her to a show only a handful of times.

She turned away from the billionaire and his family to look straight into Jeff's eyes. She stared back at him without flinching, even though she knew she never won a game of wills with him. Jeff was just freaky; his green orbs always seemed to look right into her soul, right through all her protective walls to delve into her darkest secrets. X-ray vision, that's what he had. She knew that wasn't really possible, but it was unnerving and he knew she hated it. That was probably why he did it all the time. And her stupid stubborn streak always refused to back down.

"You look better," Jeff stated, breaking into her thoughts.

"You don't," she said, rolling her eyes as she pulled her I-pod out of her pocket.

She raised the volume to block him out and let the sounds of Kings of Leon distract her as the waiter finally brought their breakfast. Of course, she had the breakfast that Jeff had ordered. She would have pushed it away from her if Matt hadn't been looking at her; instead, she took a bite of her toast and started looking around at the other people in the room to distract herself from the nasty taste in her mouth.

Her eyes wandered to Vince and his family again, studying the man who had the power to make or break her Mattie. How did it feel to have all the money in the world to do as he wished all the time? To have all those people waiting to jump at your orders?

The man sitting beside him, with his blond hair and muscles that strained his t-shirt, looked awfully familiar, more so than the other one. She looked back at her food and used a spoon to tap the rhythm of Use Somebody as it blasted loudly in her ears. As always, she couldn't help but sing along. Needless t say, the sexy sounds of Kings of Leon did things to her body that she liked a lot.

_I've been roaming around,  
Always looking down at all I see  
Painted faces fill the places I can't reach_

You know that I could use somebody  
You know that I could use somebody

Someone like you, And all you know, And how you speak  
Countless lovers under cover of the street

You know that I could use somebody  
You know that I could use somebody  
Someone like you

She started humming and looked up from her food to see Jeff's eyes on her again. He was looking at her strangely, almost as if he wasn't looking at her at all, like he was away in one of the many strange places in his head. It was almost as if there was no hate between them as the green orbs looked into her face. He did weird things like that a lot. Sometimes she got curious, but always decided no good could ever come out of delving into the mind of this enigma.

She looked away from him to look at Shane and he lifted his cup of coffee to her in salute as he gave her one of his cheeky grins. She smiled back. Shane was a good guy, always good for lifting her spirits when she needed it.

As the last notes of the song played in her ear, it came to her. She knew who Blondie was.

"That's the dude who spat on me!" she exclaimed.

She swore loudly when she was kicked under the table.

"Ow! The fuck's the matter with you?" she snapped at Jeff, then looked over when Matt almost choked on his food.

Shane seemed to be doing the same.

"Dudes, I'm telling you," she insisted, when she thought they didn't believe her. "He's the one who does his ape-like pose then spits. The last few shows you dragged me to he got me real good. And not to mention he once almost took my eye out with a glow stick. I should whack him in the head or something for that. In fact, since you insist on my being here, next show I'll take a freakin' umbrella and if he does that shit again, I swear I'll knock him out with it."

She got kicked again, this time by Matt and she frowned at him, a bit confused. What the hell had she done now?

She was in the process of asking when Shane pulled her ear phones out. The result was she heard just how loud she'd been. So loud that everyone had probably heard her.

Stopping mid sentence, she looked around slowly and realised they had. Including the man she had been talking about.

Biting her lip, she winced at him.

The man chuckled and she turned away, wishing the floor would just swallow her up as laughter started ringing through the room.

"I think I'll go up and order room service, if it's alright with you," she whispered to Matt.

Matt sighed and nodded his head. Shane and Jeff were chuckling into their food. She didn't mind Shane laughing at her but she used all her willpower to resist the urge to throw something at Jeff as she quickly stood from her seat and let herself out of the restaurant.

* * *

"Who _was_ that girl?" Vince asked his son-in-law.

"I don't know. But I'll try my best not to spit on her again," Hunter laughed.

"Did you hear that voice? Did you see all that fire between her and Jeff? When she grabbed him, I really wanted to see if she could take him down like she said," he mused. "Very intriguing."

"Dad, what are you thinking?" Shane asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Nothing," he smiled, but he could tell none of his family believed him.

"You're up to something," Hunter stated.

"All I asked was who she was. She has a pretty good voice. Nothing more," he said, defending himself.

But as he took a forkful of his breakfast into his mouth, he couldn't help thinking about all that tangible chemistry he had seen between that girl and Jeff. It would make great tv.

* * *

**Thank you for your reviews HardyDXEvolutionChick, World's Biggest Jerichoholic, LegacyChick, xSamiliciousx, Bingobaby and dehlia666. I appreciate you taking the time out to do that. **

**Don't get too impatient, it's early days still. lol. _She_ doesn't even know she's pregnant yet! And Jeff will reach his breaking point soon enough....**

**I probably won't be able to post again till after Christmas, so to those who celebrate it, Merry Christmas.**

**Enjoy.**


	7. Chapter 7

They got to the arena a little later than planned that evening, mainly because Keri had taken her time getting ready. As if she needed any help looking good. Honestly, what was it with these beautiful women? They were all so vain.

Jeff looked at the baggy hipster jeans she'd chosen in the end because she said they would bring her the least attention after the shit in the restaurant. They weren't supposed to do anything for him, certainly not like the little skirt she'd tried on first, or the tight little three quarter pants. But the way they hung low on those hips... And of course, all of that skin exposed by the baby tee she wore...

That girl was just cruisin' for a nailin'.

"So what am I supposed to do while you guys are workin'?" Keri asked.

"Hang around in the locker room, or you can go down to catering, if you want," Matt instructed her as he quickly set his bag down. "We have to do the opening segment, but call Shane to keep you company while we're busy."

"Can you do something for me while you're out there?" she asked as he and Matt started to head out.

"What?"

"Instead of a chair, knock Jeff out with the bell or anything else that's really heavy."

He growled at her but said nothing. Matt chuckled and ushered him out of the room.

"We should have locked her in there," he said as they rushed down to the Gorilla.

Matt was going out first to try and taunt him into fighting and he was supposed to go out and refuse, as he'd done the past few weeks since the Rumble, when Matt had cost him the belt.

"She won't get into any trouble," Matt said, to which he only grunted.

There were way too many people around to temp Keri into doing something stupid, like maybe scam them out of their hard earned money. Tonight's event was a Supershow; all three brands were there including, of course, all three McMahons. And Orton. He didn't need more people getting curious about her, it would only mean trouble. It was bad enough that in the course of the day, people had come up to him and asked who she was, after the thing at breakfast. Some had even had the cheek to ask if she was his girlfriend, even though everyone knew he was with Maria!

Why would they think that? Just because he'd been a bit... entranced, should he say? Well, so had they. There hadn't been a person in that restaurant that morning that hadn't shut up so they could hear her sing.

It wasn't that he'd never heard her sing before. It was just that, lately- since the dreams started, anything she did had the ability to fuck him up. Her voice in particular. It just dripped of sex. So her singing that song had been like she'd been singing for him; using her voice to touch every single nerve in his body.

He needed to do something about this really soon. Before he completely lost his mind.

"Hardy!"

Both of them turned to see Hunter walking up behind them.

"Hey," Matt said. "What's up?"

"Have you seen Vince yet?"

"Yeah, back at the hotel," Matt answered.

Vince had allowed Keri access without even a second thought. He'd actually seemed very eager. They'd thought that a bit weird, but hadn't questioned it because it was what they'd wanted.

"And... is your friend here?" Hunter grinned. "You know, just so I know where to aim my spit."

"I'm sorry again about that," Matt said.

"I told you already, I thought it was funny. Stop apologising," Hunter laughed. "Maybe I can meet her later and apologise to _her_."

"She's in our locker room. You can stop by anytime," Matt said.

"Right. I might just do that. See you guys later, then."

"Maybe that wasn't a good idea," he said to Matt as they finally came to the Gorilla position.

"Stop worrying. She won't do anything stupid."

He only grunted in reply.

* * *

Keri was completely bored within minutes. There was nothing remotely interesting or stimulating about staring at the bare walls and steel lockers in this room. She should have thought about this before she left the hotel, maybe she would have brought a book or something.

She was about to call Shane when she thought of a better plan. Alcohol. And that was something she already knew Shane wouldn't allow.

Did they sell alcohol in this place?

The best place to start was probably Catering. She knew she wouldn't find alcohol there, but perhaps there'd be at least one person there clever enough to have brought some. She could be their best friend for the night.

She walked down the long hallway to the room Matt had pointed out to her as they'd rushed in. There were a few people there, some whom she'd met over the years when they sometimes dropped in on Matt and Jeff, though she wasn't good with remembering their names and others she didn't know at all.

One person she did know was Adam. He was at the far end of the room with a couple of guys, probably talking shit like he normally did.

It didn't take long for Adam's eyes to find her, and at the little smile she gave him, he visibly flinched.

She couldn't get how Matt had forgiven him for breaking up their little family. Lita had been the first real female influence she'd had in her life, she'd learned quite a lot from her. But Adam had come between that and she'd lost both him and Lita.

At least Jeff had found the punishment she'd dealt him fitting. That was quite possibly the only time he hadn't got angry with her for doing stupid shit.

Deciding not to bother with Adam for now, her eyes scanned the room for her new best friend. They landed on a huge guy, all dark, handsome and quite scary looking. Probably double her age, but he wore it well. And he had a bottle of whiskey on the table in front of him while he read through a paper.

* * *

"What was that all about? She looked at you like she really hates you," Paul, known as the Big Show stated as he watched the girl who'd just walked into the room.

"She does. She was there when the whole Lita thing happened," Adam sighed.

"I thought Matt was over all that shit. Why would she still hate you for it?" Dave Batista asked.

"I broke up her family. She's... she's very sensitive about stuff like that."

"She's their family? Really? The way Jeff was looking at her this morning, you wouldn't have thought so," Paul said.

"Jeff and Keri? That would never happen," Adam stated. "Those two hate each other."

"You know what they say about love and hate," Dave said.

"Nah. Not with those two," Adam said.

"So Jeff wouldn't mind if I was to ask her out, or something?" Dave asked.

"_I'd_ mind if you were to ask her out," Adam frowned. "Keri may not be in my life anymore, but that doesn't mean I'd wish bad things on her."

"Ha ha," Dave muttered, watching as the girl they'd been discussing walked over to Taker's table.

"This should be interesting," Paul said. "Out of all the people in this room, she's picked the meanest fucker to talk to."

"Go save your friend, Adam. Taker will rip her to shreds."

"Keri can take care of herself," Adam sighed.

* * *

She didn't hesitate. Before long, she was seated opposite him at the table, waiting for him to look up from his paper.

But he didn't. He actually continued reading as if she wasn't there, even though she knew he had seen her sit down.

"Hi," she said, deciding to take matters in her own hands. "Keri Christos. Pleased to meet you."

The man just looked up for a second, his brown eyes narrowing a little before he looked back down.

"You're one rude son of a bitch, aren't you?" she said, her own eyes narrowing.

What was so hard about saying hello? Who did he think he was?

The man looked back up, a little shocked, but he still said nothing.

"Okay. Maybe I went a little ahead of myself. Are you deaf?" she asked.

The cold eyes narrowed again. Obviously not. But maybe he could lip read.

"Dumb?"

They narrowed more.

"Stupid, then?"

"Watch your mouth, little girl," the man growled.

Her own eyes narrowed.

"I'm not little. You're just overgrown," she snapped.

The man's brow rose.

"Okay, so now that we got the pleasantries out of the way, what you drinking there?" she said, eying up his bottle.

"How old are you?" the man asked.

"How old are _you_?"

"That's not relevant."

"Well, neither is _my_ age."

The man looked at her for another second before he looked back down at his paper. She sighed. Obviously, she needed to be a bit nicer to her new best friend if she was going to share that drink.

"Twenty-four," she answered.

"You don't look a day over ten."

She narrowed her eyes at him and grit her teeth.

"No? Well, at least time has treated one of us pretty good," she said.

She thought she saw the side of his lips quirk up a little, but whatever she saw disappeared in a second as he looked down at his paper again.

"A little smile wouldn't kill you," she said. "No. Wait. Don't listen to me. Wait till your doctor advises you, you might break something otherwise."

He looked up again and this time she smiled at him innocently.

"What do you want? An autograph?"

"Why would I want your autograph?"

Stupid question. He was obviously a wrestler, and that pretty much assured he had some fans somewhere always asking for his autograph, whether he was crap at his job or not.

His brow shot up in surprise.

"Okay, that _was_ a stupid question. Maybe I should just ask your name?"

He looked at her for a while, she was sure he wasn't going to answer her, but he surprised her by growling, "Mark."

"There you go. That wasn't so hard, was it," she said. "So Mark, are we going to get better acquainted over a drink?"

"You are very, very annoying," he frowned.

"And if you don't share that drink, I could be here all night baby. All night."

She smiled at him again. Finally, he sighed and put his paper down before reaching for a clean glass from the table behind him.

"Thank you, Mark. This best friend thing is pretty awesome."

"Best friend?"

"Yeah. You and me. We could do the whole sharing feelings thing now if you want, get it out of the way."

"Sharing _feelings_?" Mark spat out.

"Well, my favourite colour is blue. I'm a music whore and I like having fun. When I was three, I fell out of a tree and hit my head. Mama said I've never been the same since. When I was seven, Bobby Joe stole my bike but I hunted him down and _he's_ never been the same since. When I was nine...."

She saw his jaw drop in annoyance.

"Too much? Want me to back off a little?"

"A lot. Go annoy someone else."

"Oh, I can't do that. I'd never walk away from my best friend."

She looked at him straight in the eyes as she said this, trying to hide a smile as the man got a bit more annoyed.

Well, it served him right for being a jerk to start off with. She would never have had to mess with him if he'd just said hello like a normal person.

"Are you upset?" she asked, moving her chair so she was right next to him before she put her arms around his huge torso as far as they'd go. God, he was freakin' huge! "Aw. It'll be alright, Mark."

She pushed him away from her a little and looked into his eyes, trying to put on her best sincere look.

"Isn't this just nice? We'll be best friends forever and ever."

But the man just looked at her as if she was crazy. She couldn't help bursting into laughter as she grabbed her drink and took a satisfying gulp.

Man, it felt good to be free of the Hardys for a while.

She looked up and saw Blondie from breakfast walk up to them with a smaller guy, his hands in the air as if in surrender.

"I come in peace," he said. "Put down your umbrella."

She had the grace to look slightly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realise I was being so loud," she muttered.

Blondie just laughed and pulled a chair up to the table.

"I'm the one who should be apologising. I didn't realise I could aim that well," he said.

She smiled at him a little, grateful that her insults that morning weren't about to make life harder for Matt like Jeff had said they would. She took another sip of her drink and looked over at Mark. He was still frowning at her.

"What's with your face?" she asked him. "Put a smile on it."

Blondie and his friend laughed.

"So, we couldn't help overhearing," Blondie said. "Best friends, huh?"

"Forever and ever," she smiled, putting her arm around Mark again and smiling up at him. "Ain't that right, Marky?"

"Marky?" Mark growled.

"Oh yes. We should have pet names for each other. Best friends do that a lot."

"Yes, Marky," Blondie laughed.

Mark finally let out an exasperated sigh and picked his paper up before getting up.

Whoa! The guy had to be at least seven feet.

"Aw, Marky. Don't go," she laughed. "I'll be good, I promise."

But Mark just looked at her and said, "You're very, very strange. Don't sit with me _ever_ again."

"But we're best friends now."

Mark muttered something under his breath then he was gone. It was only as her eyes followed his exit that he noticed everyone seemed to have been paying attention to them as well.

Dammit. Now they all probably thought she was crazy, too.

"I think the Dead Man was lost for words," Blondie's friend laughed. "That doesn't happen very often. You're good."

"Thank you," she laughed, picking up the bottle Mark had left on the table. "Drink?"

"Don't mind if I do. I'm Shawn, by the way," Blondie's friend said. "And this man who does the ape-like pose is Hunter."

She liked the two of them. They were quite funny. And they wore a t-shirts that said, 'World's Biggest Member'. Anyone who could wear that with a straight face had to be funny. Before long, she literally had her hair down, laughing with them like they'd been friends forever.

She'd always found it easy to make friends. It was just that, often, she had to leave them just as fast.

After a while, she looked over and saw Adam was still there with his friends. He was looking miserable in his chair while his friends talked over his head.

Smiling, she beckoned him over.

What the heck. She was in a good mood.

* * *

After doing a promo, Jeff made his way to catering to find something to eat. The last thing he expected was the scene that met him.

Keri was sitting at a table with Hunter and Shawn, while – surprise, surprise – Adam sat next to her with his arm around her shoulders. Laughing. What, they were friends again, now? A few other people had pulled their chairs around them or were occupying the table next to them; Dave and Paul, Cody and Ted, Melina, Eve, even Rey and Punk. They seemed to be having one hell of a party. And they were still in the middle of a show. Didn't they realise the trouble they'd get into if Vince found them drinking?

Well, at least she hadn't been robbing anyone while he'd been working.

Then he saw her pour herself a drink and frowned. She knew she wasn't supposed to touch that shit until she was better. She knew the rules.

"Keri!"

She looked up at him but only raised her drink in salute before looking back at her new friends.

Shaking his head, he walked over to the table that held the food. It wasn't his job to babysit her. If she wanted to jeopardise her recovery, that was her choice. She was grown.

He saw Shane leaning against the wall next to the table, looking at the scene as if in a confused daze.

"What's up?" he asked.

"She's talking to Adam like she didn't break into his house and try to kill him."

Jeff grinned at that description of what Keri had done. She had broken into Adam's house with the intent of asking him why the hell he'd done what he'd done. Knocking him out with that bat had been an accident. And then she'd stolen his prized car because she'd freaked out when he'd lay bleeding on top of the glass table that had broken his fall, and shattered under his weight. Wrecking the car had been another innocent accident, because she'd been freaking out that she'd killed him.

He knew this because he'd seen it happen. He'd been just as angry about what Adam and Lita had done as everyone else, and he'd wanted to deal with it. Only Keri had beaten him to it.

He grabbed a bottle of water and went to lean on the wall next to Shane.

"So tell me," Shane started. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, everyone seems to be asking me if Keri's your girlfriend," Shane said.

"Why the fuck would they think that?" he swore. "Everyone knows I'm with Maria."

Damnit!

He needed to get this thing under control. If Maria heard this shit, there was no telling what she'd do. Either she'd leave him or he'd lose her trust. He wasn't sure which would be worse.

"Something about the way you were looking at her."

"Everyone was looking at her," he snapped.

"Relax. I know nothing like that would ever happen," Shane said. "I just thought it was funny."

He grunted. There was nothing funny about being mistaken for Keri's boyfriend.

They heard loud laughing from the tables across the room and his attention was claimed again. Normally, he would have been sitting there with everyone else, talking and laughing like everyone else. Now Keri had taken just about all his friends.

He saw her pass her phone around for the other guys to save their numbers. Well, a few more people fooled by her pretty exterior. He wondered how long this bunch of friends would last. Most of her old ones hadn't made it past the month mark before they'd seen through her.

It was just too bad Matt, Shane and the rest of the guys hadn't done the same.

They heard the group make plans to meet up at the hotel they were all staying in to continue the party. Well, they could have Keri for the whole night as far as he was concerned. Maybe then he'd sleep properly.

Then Orton and Cena walked in. He resisted the urge to run over to Keri's table, grab her and run out of the room.

* * *

"Hey, gorgeous."

She looked up to see Orton standing over her, dressed in his wrestling gear and a tight t-shirt over his spectacular chest. She resisted the urge to fan herself. The man was gorgeous. She couldn't help looking at him from top to bottom; those gorgeous blue eyes, the sexy smirk on his sexy lips, the wide, huge chest, and the large arms with the gorgeous tribal tattoos, those large thighs.... and the bulge beneath his little spandex pants...

Her mouth watered. No, she wouldn't have a problem going all the way with this one.

"Hi, Randy. Hi, John," she smiled.

"I've been sitting by my phone for the past two days," John said. "I was beginning to think we'd never see you again."

"Sorry. I didn't think Matt would appreciate me having visitors while I was supposed to be resting," she said.

"So are you all better now?" Randy asked.

"Almost. Well enough for that meal you promised me," she smiled.

"Awesome," Randy said. "How about tonight?"

"Tonight would be good."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Adam interjected. "Thought we had plans for tonight."

"Yeah. You going to ditch us for a pretty face?" Hunter teased. "Why don't you two join us instead? We're going to meet in the bar at the hotel. We might make a plan for somewhere else after."

"Sure," John shrugged as he found a seat and dropped himself on it.

"I don't mind," Orton said. "As long as this beautiful woman is there, I'm happy."

Beautiful? He thought she was beautiful? She resisted the urge to do a happy dance and just smiled at him instead.

She'd heard this from many, many men before him, but she'd known all those others were only trying to get into her pants. She couldn't be sure Randy was any more sincere, but at least he had her body tingling in a way all those other guys never could.

This little forced trip was turning out better than she'd expected.

* * *

Jeff saw Orton lean in towards her and whisper something in her ear that had her laughing really hard before she threw her free arm around him and whispered something back. His eyes narrowed.

Now, he could understand why she'd have her arm around Adam. They'd been pretty close before the whole Lita thing. But Orton? They'd only just met. Why would she do that? And what the hell would they be whispering about?

Was it about their 'secret relationship'?

He bit down something that tasted really nasty in his mouth.

"If Orton's thinking what I think he's thinking then he and I need to have a serious talk," Shane muttered next to him.

He looked away from the scene and drank his water.

"She's a grown woman. She can get close to whoever she wants."

"And you say that like you're not the one who ends up beating up her boyfriends," Shane muttered. "I mean, Orton is exactly like the meatheads she's gone for in the past. He'll do exactly like they did. Why can't she ever see the pattern? Why does she have to wait till they've broken her heart?"

It was true. Well, except for the part about the broken heart. Keri didn't have one, therefore was incapable of feeling anything remotely close to love for all the men she'd gone out with. She was usually on to the next guy within days of leaving another. But Shane was right. All her boyfriends to date had been useless dicks. They lasted even shorter than her friends. That meant, since the girl had been dating since she was twelve, too many men had been through there.

It didn't make him stop wanting to go there himself, though.

"I'm going to get ready for my match," he said quickly.

"See you after the show, then. I'll keep an eye on Keri to make sure she doesn't go off with Randy."

"You introduced him to her," he growled as he walked away.

* * *

**AN/ I know DX didn't have those t-shirts back then but damnit, they're funny.**

**Thank you for your reviews xSamiliciousx, LegacyChick, World's Biggest Jerichoholic and Bingobaby. Enjoy this one.**

**So Keri's made friends and annoyed Taker; Jeff has one more night to go through in the same room as her... I'm sensing a bit of drama coming up. And something tells me it'll be all downhill from there...**


	8. Chapter 8

**WARINING: This chapter contains scenes and storylines that may not be suitable for younger readers... reader discretion is advised... lol. **

* * *

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Shane. Randy was hardly going to do me on a table in front of everyone else," Keri laughed as Shane led her into the room she was sharing with Matt and Jeff.

"Bet you'd have loved that, though," Jeff growled from behind them.

She turned around and stuck her tongue out at him, but she was buzzing enough from the alcohol to let that statement go without a fight. She still noted, though, that he'd been acting stranger than usual that night; all moody and shit even though she hadn't actually done anything wrong.

"What I'd like to know is what possessed you to piss the Undertaker off like that," Matt asked as he dropped his bag on the floor.

"He wasn't pissed off," she said, waving it off as she dropped onto her bed. "Besides, he deserved it. He was rude."

"He's allowed to be rude," Jeff said.

"Not to me," she threw back, fighting a yawn.

She had plans and she wasn't about to let anything ruin it, not even the fact that she was exhausted. Randy had promised her one hell of a night and she wasn't about to pass up on that. He could be the one she'd been looking for her whole life, the one she would finally go all the way with. But she needed to have a little talk with him in private first. If her guess was right, the last thing she wanted was for him to tell people where he knew her from. Matt would never get over that disappointment. He could even go as far as disowning her, and that was the last thing she needed.

She had an hour at least before she had to meet everyone else downstairs so she decided on a little nap.

She pulled her phone out and set an alarm before snuggling her pillow.

An hour was all she needed. Then she'd be as good as new.

But when she opened her eyes daylight was streaming into the room. And she was in her sleeping t-shirt, under the covers with her phone nowhere in sight.

Dammit!

She looked over at the other bed and saw Jeff fast asleep in it while Matt was lightly snoring on the couch. Taking her phone so she wouldn't wake up to go out would probably have been Jeff's idea. Everything that messed with her fun was usually his idea.

She threw the covers off herself angrily and strode over to his bed with the intention of finding something heavy to hit him with. Why did he always have to stick his nose in her business, anyway? Sure, the past few days had been suspiciously peaceful, but he'd still been pushing his will on her like he always did. She didn't like it. It was time to end this stupid truce he'd forced on her.

But as she stood over his face, ready to shake him awake, he muttered her name and rolled over so he was facing her. He was still sleeping. But he had a smile on his face.

Was he dreaming of her? And smiling? Geez, what sort of sick dream was he having? He was probably torturing her in some medieval torture chamber or some sick shit like that. Yeah, that would definitely bring a smile to his face.

Then he moaned and said her name again. Now, she had no experience when it came to sex, but she'd messed around enough to know what that moan meant.

No! No, no. No! What the hell? Was he having a sex dream??

Before she could analyze this any further, she found herself trapped under Jeff's body, pinned to the mattress. He'd somehow grabbed her and rolled over, but he wasn't really awake yet.

"Keri?" he murmured sleepily, his face only an inch from hers. "Where've you been? I missed you."

Okay, this was beyond weird. Was she in some sort of alternate universe? Because there was no way in hell this would ever happen in real life!

Jeff kicked the covers off his body and positioned himself better on top of her. With her eyes widening in shock, she realised the only thing keeping him from slipping into her were the panties she was wearing.

The man had no freaking clothes on!

The man was having a dream about her, moaning her name, hard as a rock between her legs, and he had no damn clothes on!

She'd been in this position many, many times with her ex-boyfriends. This was the point when sex became all too real and she freaked out and stopped it. And soon after that, the guys left her, accusing her of being a frigid cock tease.

But for some reason, she wasn't freaking out with Jeff. And she needed to be because sex with Jeff could never be a good thing.

But she was curious. Why wasn't she panicking the way she normally did? Why wasn't she scared shitless?

His lips came down on the side of her neck and she let out a gasp.

_What the hell was that? _

It felt like his hot lips had turned her body into a pool of nerves with just that one touch and immediately rendered her mindless. She forgot she was pinned under Jeff, the man she loathed. She forgot he made her skin crawl. And she couldn't help the little shiver that went down her body and somehow turned to heat as it stopped between her legs.

_Oh, my freakin' God! _

Was this what she'd been looking for all this time? This heat? This fire?

His lips continued their sensual onslaught and it was like nothing she'd ever felt before. Her limbs weakened and became too heavy to move. She didn't know what the hell was happening to her body but it felt so good... so damn good.

His hand slowly trailed the side of her neck, down to her breast and a moan left her lips. The thin material of her t-shirt offered no protection what-so-ever from the heat she felt at his touch. Her back involuntarily arched and offered him better access.

It would have scared her if she'd been thinking straight but she had no control over her body at all. She wanted Jeff to touch her. She wanted to feel this way; mindless, weightless, breathless...

"Jeff!" she gasped when his fingers started moulding her nipple.

His head snapped up and he looked down into her face. He was awake now, she could tell.

But he didn't stop.

His fingers continued touching her while his other hand slid her t-shirt up her body, and before she knew it, his lips were on her breast.

_Dear God, what the fuck was that?!_

* * *

He had no idea how she'd got in his bed but he wasn't going to question the gods. This was what he'd been dreaming about for a long time.

Unless he was still dreaming.

His hand shook as he gently trailed his hand over her stomach to give attention to her other breast. Her skin felt incredible under his fingers. Like satin. She let out a moan that he felt to his very core as she pressed up into him some more.

_Please... don't let this be a dream..._

He dipped his head to taste her, his tongue greedily licking every inch of her breast before he took her hardened nipple into his mouth.

She cried out his name again, and if he hadn't known any better he would have thought she'd never done this before. The expressions on her face... Wonder? Intrigue? It was like she was experiencing this for the very first time, even if her body was responding like the pro she was.

Maybe it _was_ like the very first time. It felt new for him, too, different.

She tasted so good, better than in his dreams. He couldn't help trailing his lips all over her; kissing, licking, sucking, biting... He was probably still dreaming because she responded exactly the same way she had in his dream... whimpering, gasping, mewling, her nails digging into him as she tried to get closer to him... Yes, it had to be a dream.

He let his fingers slide down into her panties and found her hot and ready. Only she didn't seem ready. He saw the look of shock on her face as he gently brushed over the sensitised nub as if that was new, too. So he decided to take it slow.

This time... this one time... he was going to concentrate on her.

Then when she was satiated he would work her up again then dick her.

He was a nice guy, after all. He could afford to be a bit selfless.

He groaned as he moved his body up, brushing himself against her in the process until he had his lips on her neck again. His hand remained where it was, teasing her as he got himself into position; on his side with his leg between hers. He wanted to be able to see her face when he made her come.

"Jeff..." she moaned. "I can't take any more..."

Well, she was going to have to. She was going to take everything he gave her and love it. He'd waited too long for this to do things by half.

He slid one finger inside her hot slickness while his thumb remained on her nub.

"Fuck!" she screamed.

She felt so tight he had to bite a groan as he buried his face in her hair. How good was she going to feel when he finally sank himself into her? It took all his will power not to just rip her panties off there and then and just do it.

He'd never been so hard in his life. He'd never known he could be so hard. All his fantasies and dreams about this... they hadn't prepared him for it at all. He was twitching uncontrollably against her thigh, begging for release... but he had to take care of Keri first. If he didn't, he knew he wasn't going to satisfy her any other way, not when he was going to explode the second he entered her.

"You like that, Keri?" he whispered as he slipped a second finger into her.

Her only answer was another little scream as she bucked against his fingers.

How the hell was she so responsive to him? Every little touch, even the way he was looking at her had her whimpering like crazy... and every little whimper that came from her lips brought him that much closer to completion.

"So wet..." he groaned as he continued his ministrations. "So hot... I can't wait to have you, Keri."

"Jeff!" she screamed, just as she tightened around his fingers.

"Look at me," he ordered.

She did as he asked, her eyes locking with his as the first wave neared. As in his dreams, those hazel eyes had turned into molten pools of gold, drowning him, burning him with need...

Her back arched, her fingers dug into the bedding as she finally found her release. Her cries, her moans and groans mingled with his own as he looked into her beautiful face. It was too much. He wasn't going to make it. He couldn't help it.

As the last waves hit her and with her eyes still locked on his, he bucked gently against her thigh... once... twice... and let out a low growl when his seed sprayed her thigh, panties and stomach.

How was this possible? How could he come when she hadn't even touched him yet? Was it because he'd been dying to touch her for years?

Looking down at her now, her breath laboured, her hair spread across his pillow, her eyes looking at him like he was a freakin' god, he couldn't believe how beautiful this moment had been. She'd come to him willingly... she'd given herself to him just as he'd dreamed of all these years. And even though he hadn't even got to be inside her, the look on her face as she'd come had been the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

He was ready to see it again. Properly.

He started to lower his head slowly to her lips, knowing they were the one thing he had neglected even though he wondered a million times a day how they tasted. They'd probably taste good, just like the rest of her...

But an alarm went off; breaking his beautiful moment as he suddenly remembered his brother was in the same room.

Before his lips could touch hers, the horrible sound penetrated their steamy fog, and he saw shock slowly start to register on her face. It only took seconds for the shock to turn into disgust.

"Keri__"

"No!" she hissed as she launched herself off his bed. "I can't..."

"We need to talk about this," he whispered firmly, looking over at the couch once to see his brother stirring.

"You... Stay the fuck away from me," she hissed again before storming to the bathroom.

He lay back down on his pillows when he heard the shower running and sighed. He hadn't got to dick her. And something told him she wasn't about to let anything like this happen ever again.

* * *

No, no, no, no, no!

With Jeff? What the hell?

How could she let Jeff, of all people, do that to her?

She could have screamed. She could have woken him the second he'd pinned her down. Why had she let him touch her like that?

And how was it that she had never felt like that with anyone before? It wasn't for lack of trying. She'd had a boyfriend from the moment she had read about Prince Charming, hoping to find her own to whisk her off into their very own fairytale. Having a prostitute for a mother didn't make for a happy childhood, so she'd hoped that, instead of sleeping with all of them like her mother had, if she could only find one... just one guy to spend the rest of her life with...

Only none of those men had made her feel like this.

Her limbs were still weak and her heart was still pounding loudly in her chest as she tried to catch her breath.

How the hell had Jeff done that? One minute she was trying to find something to hit him with the next she was a mindless idiot, letting the one man she hated touch her like a lover was supposed to.

She slid her panties off her body, cringing when she remembered she had his spunk all over her. But as much as she wanted to find that disgusting, her body was still remembering how good it had been.

Quickly she stepped under the hot spray of the shower and proceeded to scrub herself. Really hard. She didn't want any reminder of what she'd just done.

* * *

"What's taking her so long? I need to get ready for the gym," Matt said with a yawn when his alarm went off for the third time.

_Oh, she's just freaking out because if it hadn't been for your stupid alarm I'd have nailed her really good._

"Don't know," he mumbled instead.

"Think she'll be pissed with you for taking her phone last night?"

_Oh, I think she has bigger things than that to worry about now._

"Very," he answered.

Her freaking out wasn't exactly the reaction he'd hoped for, for when he finally got intimate with her. He'd hoped to have some sort of plan first, one that insured things wouldn't blow up in his face. By things he meant Matt and Shane.

Would she tell Matt the first chance she got? Would she claim he'd forced her?

"Well, try not to fight. You two have been getting along very well the past few days, let's not ruin that," Matt said as he finally got off the couch and walked over to his bag.

_Too late, Matt. Everything's probably already ruined. Any second now, she'll come out of there and tell you what I've just done._

Maybe the best plan was to run. Just until he knew whether he was safe or not.

Man, how much would it suck to be killed when he hadn't even slept with her?

The door finally open and Keri walked out, throwing Matt a smile as she quickly walked over to her bag. She looked everywhere but at him.

"You alright, sweetheart?" Matt asked.

He tensed a little as he waited for her to answer.

"Of course," she said, smiling at him. "I must have been more tired than I thought last night."

He let out a silent breath of relief.

So she wasn't going to tell on him. Yet. So what was her game? Was she going to act like nothing happened? Was she going to pretend she didn't become undone underneath him?

As his brother walked into the bathroom, he smiled.

Keri had just made life that much easier for him.

He'd seen how much she'd wanted him, there was no way she could have faked that. All he'd had to do was touch her and she'd come apart. She'd begged him for it.

So if he was to touch her again... and again... and again.... How long would it be before she broke down and let him dick her? He was guessing... not that long. And she wouldn't even tell Matt about it.

He remained on the bed, watching her jerky movements as she pulled her clothes on under her towel. The dynamics of their relationship had changed. He'd never thought how things would change after he slept with her, mainly because he knew nothing would change for him – he'd still hate her guts. But how would she feel? Would she avoid him? Would she stop baiting him, stop doing stupid things that would force him into contact with her? How awesome would that be?

So nailing her would be a public service.

As quick as she could, she grabbed her cigarettes from the side and rushed out onto the balcony.

He threw the covers off himself, pulled his sweats on and followed.

What, did she really think she'd escape that easy?

"Why didn't you tell him?" he asked when he was stood right behind her.

"Because there's nothing to tell," she growled out, not even bothering to turn around to face him.

He smirked as he leaned his body closer to hers.

"Not yet, maybe," he agreed. "Are you going to wait till I've made you ride me till my dick falls off?"

"Get the fuck away from me, you freak," she snapped.

Smiling, he closed the little gap left between their bodies. It was satisfying to hear the gasp that left involuntarily from her lips. After years of suffering in silence, it felt good to wreck a bit of revenge.

"You don't mean that, Keri," he whispered. "You want to find out what the hell is going on here as much as I do."

"There's nothing going on here!" she snapped.

"Was it all in my head, then, Keri? Did I imagine you moaning my name when I touched you?" he whispered against her ear, his hands finding their way to her hips and holding her against him. "Did I imagine it when you begged me? I'm getting hot just thinking about it."

He pressed her against him to prove his point and smirked when she gasped again.

"Am I making you feel things you don't want to feel, Keri? Don't fight them, it'll be easier that way," he whispered again. "Just imagine it. I could make you feel so good. I could make you go crazy with wanting before I slide myself inside you. I could go slow... fast... whichever way you want it."

He felt the shiver that went through her body before she roughly pushed him away and escaped to the other end of the balcony.

"You're a sick man," she hissed. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because I've just found out I can," he chuckled.

"We hate each other!"

"Trust me, sweet cheeks, love and hate have nothing to do with it. I just want to do you."

She gasped at his words and he chuckled again.

"Are you shocked?"

"This doesn't make sense. Why?"

"I don't know why. I just know that I want to do you. And now that I know you want it too__"

"I do _not_ want it," she snapped. "Stay the hell away from me, Nero. The only way you'll ever _do_ me is when I'm cold and lifeless."

"Are you two fighting again?"

They both turned to the sound of Matt's voice, and Keri took this momentary distraction to escape. It was all good, though. He'd proved his point.

Whether she liked it or not, he could turn her into a horny mess with just a little touch.

* * *

Keri told Matt she was going out for more cigarettes before quickly slipping out of the room.

She was going crazy. That had to be it. It was the only explanation. Why else would she suddenly feel this way? Because he'd touched her? He touched her all the freaking time! Okay, so he didn't touch her the way he'd done a while ago...

She shook the image out of her head as she pressed the button to call the elevator. She needed some air. Maybe it would clear her head and she could deal with the situation properly.

The doors opened, and she found it occupied by none other than Mr. Orton himself. He was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt that stretched across his expansive chest with the usual self assured aura around him.

This was the man who should have been touching her. He was beautiful.

"Hey, Keri," he smiled when she walked in.

"Hey," she smiled back.

"You stood me up last night."

"Not on purpose, believe me," she muttered.

She had a feeling, had she gone out like she'd planned, this morning would never have happened.

"What happened?"

"I took a little nap and someone took my phone so I wouldn't wake up," she sighed.

"Pity. I had plans for you," he said, a slow smile forming on his lips.

A smile formed on her own lips. This was more like it. This was normal. A normal guy who she'd imagined sleeping with from the second she'd met him. Nothing like Jeff.

"What sort of plans, Randy?"

"Guess you'll just have to let me take you out tonight if you wanna know," he said.

"Why wait for tonight? We could start the party right now, couldn't we?"

It was the perfect solution. In order to cleanse her mind of the hideous images floating in it of her morning, she had to let Randy distract her.

"I'm down with that," Randy smirked. "What do you wanna do?"

The elevator doors opened into the still relatively empty lobby. The sun had only just come up, so most people would still be in their rooms.

"I need you to do me a favour," she said.

"Anything. Just name it."

"Kiss me."

Randy's brow rose in surprise but he smirked and pulled her against him. She felt nothing like what she'd felt when Jeff had touched her but she pushed that thought aside. She felt s_omething_, so that was good enough.

The man was tall, taller than Jeff, so she had to go on her toes. Then his lips touched hers in a sweet little kiss. She felt no heat. She felt no fire. The kiss felt... safe.

Damnit!

In desperation, she opened her mouth to allow him access, and it seemed to do the trick. Randy moaned against her lips as he deepened the kiss and she felt a little excitement run through her body. If they kept this up, she'd feel the fire in no time.

But Jeff had made her feel it with just a touch of his lips on her neck.

Immediately, whatever she'd started to feel disappeared. Damn, why did she have to think about Jeff at a time like this?

* * *

Jeff decided on an early breakfast, knowing if he waited to eat with the rest of the guys, they'd know something was going on between him and Keri. But the second he stepped into the lobby he wished he hadn't bothered.

His first instinct was to walk over to them, prise them apart then beat the shit out of Orton.

But that would mean he was jealous or something, and he knew he wasn't.

He just couldn't believe she'd be with another man just minutes after what they'd shared that morning. But he should have expected it. Keri was nothing but a manipulative, conniving bitch. She was a whore. Of course she'd have jumped into Orton's arms the second she'd seen him.

He turned back into the elevator and pressed the button for his floor.

Fucking Keri. Orton was going to nail her first, and the last thing he wanted was to go where Orton had been.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck!_

He should have just done her when he had the chance. All this shit would be over by now.

* * *

**AN/ No time to proofread, sorry. And I hope I posted the right chapter of the right story... lol.**

**Oh, keep your knickers on people. All will be revealed soon enough. Lol. Yes, she's pregnant like I said in the summary, but why get to all that angst when she could have a bit of fun first? And there's the whole Orton thing that has to be developed still... where does he know he from, do they get it on... that sort of thing. ha ha!**

**Thank you for your reviews everyone, I'll write you all by name in the next update. Really tired right now. Enjoy this one, and please, leave a review. Like I said in the beginning, I have two going and they seem to be neck and neck right now, but if you want your favourite to get the most attention, please review it. This pregnancy is kicking my butt, there's only so much I can do...**


	9. Chapter 9

Randy released Keri just in time to see Jeff's eyes as the elevator closed. The man looked positively livid, and he suddenly got the feeling his first impression of Jeff and Keri's relationship had been the right one. Something was going on there.

But that wasn't his main focus at that time. If the girl wanted to play, he would certainly play. Only she hadn't seemed as eager in her response to him as he'd hoped.

"You weren't feeling that at all, were you?" he chuckled as he watched her straighten her hair and clothes.

"Was I that obvious?" she asked with a grimace.

"Only a little," he laughed as he led her away from the elevators.

"It was probably a bit too soon to be kissing," she mumbled.

Or she had been thinking of someone else. He didn't mind. It wasn't like he was looking for anything serious anyway.

"Give it time, I'll grow on you," he grinned. "I say we grab some breakfast and make a plan. I'm checking out in a little while coz I have an appearance in New York this afternoon."

"And here you were promising me heaven on earth all day today," she grinned back as they entered the hotel restaurant.

"Oh, I can still give you that, gorgeous," he promised with a smirk as he helped her into a chair. "You can ride with me to New York if you want. John's driving so you'll have my undivided attention."

A big smile appeared on her lips, as if he'd just offered her a shitload of money.

"I'd love to ride with you," she said.

The waiter came and took their orders, but she didn't order much because she was afraid she'd choke on it. The morning was playing through her mind like a horror movie.

"So, Keri. I still think I know you from somewhere," Randy said once they had their food. "We must have met, maybe at a party?"

"Yeah... about that," she frowned. "I've been meaning to talk to you about it."

* * *

Randy's offer to ride with him was a godsend. It meant she didn't have to sit in the same car as Jeff for hours on end. That plus the fact that she could use that time to get to know Randy better and prove that whatever happened that morning with Jeff meant nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

She'd been overly tired, that was all. That was the reason she'd reacted that way.

And the more time she spent with Randy the more she believed this. He'd been an absolute gentleman over breakfast, even when she'd come clean about where he probably knew her from, and that was something she didn't get a lot of. Most people assumed that just because she did certain things for a living then she was easy. She made sure Randy understood she wasn't, even if the first thing she'd done when they'd been alone was kiss him. But that was only because desperate times called for desperate measures. She'd just come from being pleasured by her worst enemy.

She pushed that thought from her mind as she sipped her coffee.

_Concentrate on Randy, concentrate on Randy. _

_Look at his gorgeous blue eyes... and the way he smiles... those wide shoulders... imagine what he looks like naked..._

Yes, that certainly did the trick.

She wasn't easy but she was certainly hoping something would happen with this beautiful man. He had a cute little sideway grin that had her wishing she could have her way with him there and then. How unfair was it that he was so pretty, prettier than her? Some people had all the luck!

When she'd apologised for asking for that kiss, he'd told her he understood perfectly and that he agreed they needed to get to know each other first. Now that was definitely something her ex-boyfriends had never said to her before. They normally tried to get into her pants from day one, especially once they knew what she did for a living.

"Want me to come by and help you with your bags when you're ready?" he asked when he'd walked her to her door.

"No, I'll be fine, thanks. I'll just meet you in the lobby in half an hour," she smiled.

"Alright then. I'll see you later," he smiled as he walked back to the elevator.

She held her breath as she walked into the room where she'd temporarily gone insane, hoping Jeff wouldn't be in there. Thankfully, he was nowhere in sight. Shane was sitting on the couch while Matt packed his stuff up on one of the beds.

"Where've you been? We're going down for breakfast now; are you coming?" Matt said when he saw her.

"I've already eaten," she answered. "I'm riding with Randy to New York. Have you already made reservations for me?"

"Riding with Orton?" Shane asked. "Why?"

"Because I can," she answered, rolling her eyes a little as she pulled her case out to start packing.

"I told you about him," Shane started.

"Helms, come on. Not now," she said. "I can take care of myself."

"I know you can and I know you're not going to lose your head all of a sudden and sleep with him but I worry about you anyway," he sighed.

"I'll be fine."

"Am I missing something here?" Matt asked as he zipped his bag up. "First Jeff goes off by himself, now you."

"Jeff's gone?"

Great. She was running for nothing.

"Yeah. He's catching a ride with someone else, he left a note to say he'll meet us there. You two haven't started fighting again, have you? I've enjoyed the last few days very much," Matt grinned.

"I barely spoke to the prick today," she muttered, hoping they didn't catch the way she slightly tensed. "Did he leave my phone?"

"Yeah," Shane said as he pointed to the coffee table. "You have quite a few messages and missed calls on it."

She grunted as she zipped up her case. Of course she'd have messages and missed calls. Jeff had had it all night.

"So will you two be alright by yourselves?" she asked as she grabbed her phone.

"Without you and Jeff fighting in the car? Of course," Matt grunted. "Just call me once you get there. Don't let Orton mess with you; you don't need his kind filling your head up with shit."

"His kind?"

"Whoring pretty boys," Shane answered for him without even looking up from his magazine.

She rolled her eyes again before going into the bathroom to change. She wanted to look good for Randy, to tempt him. The kiss hadn't gone according to plan, but with a little effort... who knew?

"You're not going around Orton dressed like that!" Shane exclaimed.

She'd chosen a little white dress that she knew accentuated her figure. With her recently grown chest, she knew it looked even better. The heels just made her legs look longer than they were.

With a chuckle, she threw the clothes she'd changed out of into her bag before kissing them both and wheeling her case out of the room.

Randy was already waiting for her in the lobby with a bunch of other guys.

"Was starting to think you'd chickened out," he smirked as he came forward to help with her bag.

"Why would I chicken out?"

"You'll be stuck in a car with four strange men. Anything could happen."

"Four?"

That was when he introduced the other guys. John she already knew, then there was Cody and Ted who were just as pretty as Randy was. And just as charming.

"Anything could happen, huh?" she asked as she let the men kiss her hand. "Is that a promise?"

"No," Randy frowned, clearly a little bit miffed at the attention his friends were giving her.

She laughed as she linked her arm through his.

"I'm just playin'," she chuckled, then whispered, "You promised me something, and I'm not letting go of you till you give it to me."

Then hopefully she'd be cleansed of Jeff's touch.

"Oh, you'll get it alright," he smirked, letting his eyes roam her body as he led her out of the hotel.

"You look absolutely gorgeous, Keri," he added as he helped her into the waiting car.

"Thank you, Randy," she grinned.

She'd already noticed that he couldn't keep his eyes off her body. It was making her feel incredibly sexy. Maybe a bit of anticipation would do the trick, make her hot enough for him to respond the way she wanted when he finally kissed her again.

* * *

Jeff was feeling considerably better after a couple of strong drinks. The second he'd checked in and taken his bag to his and Matt's room, he'd gone straight down to the bar. He knew he couldn't overdo it, though, because he had to be at the arena later that afternoon and he definitely didn't want to screw anything up. The spotlight had been on him a lot since his last suspension, he felt like they were just waiting for any excuse to fuck him off, even with most of the WWE universe pulling for him.

Bringing Keri into the picture at this time probably hadn't been a good move, then.

Especially now that he'd had a little taste of her.

He was already losing his damn mind.

The whole drive down, Morrison had asked him about a million times if he was alright. How could he answer that? His anger had disappeared the second he'd got into Morrison's rental. It had been replaced by images of his morning, insuring that he'd stayed hard as a rock until he'd checked into his room. That was a freaking long time.

When he'd seen Keri with Orton he'd been ready to break the man's neck for touching her. It was only as he'd got in the car with John that he'd realised he should never have run. He should never have allowed her time alone with that man. He should have intruded, made any sexual contact between the two impossible.

Then he should have taken her back upstairs and done her.

Maybe then he wouldn't be in this uncomfortable state.

Instead of dampening it a bit, touching Keri like that had only managed to fuel a fire that had burnt for years. He'd never wanted her like this before, it was unbearable.

"Why is a handsome man like you sitting here all by himself?"

He felt the smile appear on his face immediately, the first genuine one he'd had since Keri had come on the road with them, and felt all the tension leave his body.

This was why he was with this woman. She had this ability to temporarily make him relax.

"Hey, Maria," he said, getting up to give her a quick kiss on the lips. "Didn't know you'd checked in already, I'd have come to find you."

"Caught an earlier flight," she answered with a smile that lit up the whole room.

He couldn't help reacting to it. Maria was so beautiful, it sometimes scared him. How could anyone be so... perfect? Her smile, her looks, her personality, everything. Not like Keri, who was only perfect on the outside. He had no idea what Maria saw in him, but he'd be forever grateful that she saw it. For some reason, he was her Superman. It felt good having someone looking at him like that. She'd made him a better person just by being in his life, because everytime he thought of fucking up, he'd think of the disappointment in her big brown eyes if he did and stopped himself.

Except this morning.

He hadn't stopped himself this morning. He hadn't wanted to.

Turning away from her guiltily, he ordered her a drink and listened to her tell him about her time off. She was always excited about something, always looking at everything positively. He wished he was more like that, he wished he could see the good in everyone.

"You seemed a bit upset when I got here. Everything alright, baby?" she asked finally, a little frown on her pretty face.

"I'm alright, darlin'," he lied.

The frown left her face immediately. She always bought what he told her with no questions. He'd never taken advantage of that before, but in this case he had to.

"Guess who I just saw."

"Who?" he asked.

"Your friend, Keri," she revealed with an excited squeal. "I finally got to meet her. I made her promise me a drink later so we can get to know each other. Though I feel like I know her already."

"You make it sound like I talk about her all the time," he frowned while his head struggled to cope with what she'd just said.

He didn't know what to process first; that the woman he wanted to nail was here or that his girlfriend was going to have drinks with her.

"Talk about... complain... same thing," Maria shrugged.

He frowned a little at the way she said it. Was she suspicious?

"She was wearing the cutest little dress," Maria gushed on. "Maybe I'll convince her to go shopping with me."

Suspicious? Nah. She couldn't be.

But he still didn't want his girlfriend spending time with the object of his desire.

"Don't," he said. "Don't spend any time with her, don't go anywhere near her."

"She can't be as bad as you say she is," she said.

"I just... You know Keri and I don't get along... You're the best part of my life and once she has her grip on you she'll just ruin things for me like she always does," he said quickly. "She always does that, she's an evil cow."

"Oh, don't be a baby," she laughed, putting her arms around him and kissing his lips gently. "She won't 'ruin things for you. I would have met her already anyway if I'd been able to come to Matt's party on New Year's Eve."

Then as he looked into those trusting eyes, the most horrible thing occurred to him. He'd practically cheated on her that morning. And he was thinking of doing it again. How the hell was he only just thinking of this now? He was going to cheat on this incredible girl.

And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"What's wrong, baby?" she asked.

"Nothing," he muttered, looking away from her.

He had to find a way around this. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Maria.

"Well, I better go get ready," Maria said. "Randy's going to some appearance so I'm keeping Keri company until he gets back."

"Keri was with Randy?"

"Yeah. I think she drove down with those guys."

He finished his drink in one gulp and stood up.

"I'm going to have to talk to you later, Ria," he said. "I'll see you at the arena?"

"Um... sure," Ria frowned.

He saw the frown on her face and hesitated. He owed her an explanation at the very least.

"She knows she's not supposed to... she could get into trouble..." he stammered.

"I understand. I'll see you later," she smiled.

He knew she didn't understand, but she trusted him. He kissed her hard on the lips, hoping none of his guilt could be felt in the kiss.

"I've missed you," he whispered breathlessly when he broke it off.

He felt like a dick for saying it. He'd had no chance to miss her; Keri had occupied his mind the entire time.

* * *

Finding which room Matt had booked for her was easy enough. The girl at the front desk was a huge fan of his; all he'd had to do was give her an autograph.

But when he knocked on her door, he couldn't help wondering if Orton was in there with her. Was he getting a little bit more of what she was freely offering before he went to his signing? Was he making plans to get some more when he came back?

He couldn't help getting angry again.

The door opened and she had a big smile on her face. It quickly disappeared when she saw him, just as she made to slam the door in his face. But he was too quick for her. He pushed his way in, not caring that the force of it knocked her into the wall as he did a quick search of the room.

"The fuck is wrong with you?" she snapped as she rubbed her shoulder.

"Where is he?" he growled.

"Who?"

"Orton. I know he's here," he snapped, growling angrily when he opened the door to the bathroom and found it empty.

"Why the hell would he be here?" she asked.

"Don't play games with me, Keri," he growled again, turning around to face her. "Why didn't you ride with Matt and Shane?"

She rolled her eyes at him as she continued to rub her shoulder.

That was when he noticed what she was wearing. A little dress that made her so accessible. All he had to do was lift the hem just an inch or so to get to what he wanted.

He grew hard instantly.

And the atmosphere immediately heated up.

"No..." she whispered.

But it was too late. He was already moving towards her, his mind already set on taking her.

She backed herself against the wall, right where he wanted her.

"Stay away from me, Jeff," she whispered again.

But he could see the way her pulse quickened at the base of her neck, the way her eyes melted before they glazed over. And he could definitely see her hardened nipples straining against dress.

"Don't fight it," he whispered back, only an inch away from her body. "I'll make it good for you, I promise."

It was a stupid promise to make, though. He was only concerned about himself. When he'd been selfless that morning, he'd got nowhere.

"This is so wrong, so stupid," she whispered back.

"I know," he groaned, the heat from her body burning him. "But if we don't do this, then it'll never go away; it'll never burn itself out."

With that, he closed the gap between their bodies, letting out a low growl just as a moan escaped her lips. His hands made their way to her firm bum and he groaned when he realised she was wearing a tiny little thong that left her cheeks exposed. He gently moulded them, loving the feel of her bare flesh before pulling her up against his hard length.

She gasped at the contact as she put her hands around his neck to hold herself up. He could tell that movement was involuntary. She couldn't control what was happening here anymore than he could.

He had to do it now, to finish it. He had to burn this need out.

He wrapped her legs around him and pushed her back against the wall. It was easy enough to slip her thongs out of the way, to find the wet heat of her core. Keri bucked against his fingers and he thought again how incredible her response to him was. He'd never had that with anyone before.

With his other hand, he undid his belt and the zip of his jeans as fast as he could.

"Are you ready for me?" he whispered.

All he got for a response was a little mewl and her grinding against his fingers. He took that as a yes.

He didn't waste time positioning herself against her hot entrance. For a second, he thought she tensed, he thought she was about to pull away from him, but he touched her again and she melted against him.

She melted so damn good he had to take a second to watch her.

Then he decided her had to do her properly. He had to taste all of her. After all, he was only going to do this once.

He carried her to the bed and gently lay her down. He forgot his urgency. For some reason, he wanted to take his time. He wanted to savour the moment.

Her legs were still wrapped around his waist, her eyes still glazed over as she watched him. Slowly, he freed himself from her legs and trailed his lips along one of them, licking, tasting. She tasted as good as he'd imagined... so much better than Skittles.

He couldn't help the moan that came from somewhere inside him as he licked his way to her lacy thongs.

She was already squirming, already making little sounds that pushed him on. She was ready for him. He could just take her... really hard... really fast... There was absolutely no need to do what he did next.

He pushed the thongs out of the way and licked her.

Then he immediately became addicted to the taste of her.

He had to have more. And he did. It was no trouble ripping the thongs off her body.

She was screaming now, squirming as she thrashed her head from side to side. He gripped her hips and held her down as he continued the assault.

"Keri..." he groaned against her. "You're driving me crazy."

Her response was to grab his hair and urge him to continue, which he did gladly. She was just too tempting. He sucked, licked, probed... till his name was on her lips like a mantra.

And when her grip on his hair tightened, he knew the end was near. With his tongue, he pushed her over, sent her flying over the edge. He steeled himself, knowing if he didn't, he'd spill himself again like he'd done that morning.

He wasn't going to waste his chance this time.

He licked her until she stopped trembling, till she rode out the waves before he let go of her hips and grabbed the hem of her little dress. It had ridden up, obviously, and was pooled around her stomach. As he pushed it further up her body, his lips followed, tasting her like he'd always dreamt of. He could tell she was already getting worked up again.

When he finally had her naked, he took a moment to survey her body. So perfect... His hand was shaking as he brought it down to touch her, taking in the heat of her body, the smoothness of her skin...

How could she be so perfect on the outside yet so rotten on the inside?

"Jeff?"

He met her molten eyes without taking his hands off her body.

"I've never felt anything like that before," she whispered.

He almost believed her. She looked so innocent, lying underneath him like that. But her responses to him had been anything but innocent.

Without answering, he dipped his head so he could give her breasts his attention.

He could swear they looked a bit bigger. He'd spent the last few years studying and fantasising over her body, so yeah... he noticed.

She screamed again, her voice a little hoarse by now. He liked screamers, especially when they weren't faking it. And Keri definitely wasn't faking it. She was already very turned on so soon after her climax.

Well, good, because he didn't think he could keep out of her any longer.

With a groan, he kicked his shoes off, then the jeans that had pooled at his ankles. It was time.

As he positioned himself, he looked down into her eyes.

This was what he'd waited years for. This was what he'd dreamed of. To sink himself into her, work his frustrations off and finally be free of her.

It was going to be so damn good.

His tip came into contact with her wet heat and he groaned. There was no turning back now, not for anything.

Not even for the knock that sounded at the door.

He felt her tense as she looked towards the door and prayed she wasn't going to go all cold on him like she'd done that morning.

"They'll come back later," he urged in a whisper. "I want you, Keri. Right now."

But then the person on the other side of the door spoke.

"Keri? Are you in there?"

Shit. Talk about mood killer!

* * *

**Mwahahahaha.**

**So do they get to do it? And I know you still don't know where Randy knows her from...**

**Thank you Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, BourneBetter67, World's Biggest Jerichoholic, alana2awesome, xSamiliciousx, stripes31, Bingobaby, LegacyChick, Batista'sRKOPrincess, JenniferRayne for your reviews of the last two chapters. You guys really motivate me.**

**Sorry this update took a bit longer than usual. And it's not proofread. I might get a beta coz I keep feeling like I've posted the wrong chapter or the wrong story. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, and please leave a review.**

**Much love.**


	10. Chapter 10

**This one is for HardyDXEvolutionChick because I love stalkers. Lol. Enjoy.**

* * *

He froze, still poised above her as he searched her eyes. She'd tensed as much as he had when he'd heard that voice.

The knock came again, and this time he saw the cold come into her hazel eyes.

"Get off me!" she hissed.

He swore as he rolled off her. He wouldn't have been able to do her now, anyway. The second he'd heard who was knocking, guilt had rid him of his erection.

"Just a minute, Maria," she called out as she got off the bed and pulled the little dress back over her head. "I was just in the shower."

"Oh, okay. I'll wait for you downstairs, then," Maria called back.

He waited until he'd heard his girlfriend's footsteps retreating before he looked at Keri again. He was met by her cold, accusing glare.

"You should be ashamed of yourself. How the hell could you do that to me when you have a girlfriend?" she snapped.

"Maria's got nothing to do with this," he growled, suddenly realising he was naked from the waist down.

He got off the bed and quickly pulled his jeans back on, guilt still eating at him.

"How typical of a man!" she said angrily. "You think it's okay to cheat? You think it's okay to sow your oats wherever and whenever you want to?"

"I don't need a lecture on morals from you," he snapped as he put his shoes back on. "You were eager to give yourself to me just as much as I wanted to take you."

"Well, that shit ain't happening again," she spat out. "You'll never touch me again, you hear me Nero?"

He chuckled as he walked towards her.

"I haven't touched you yet, Keri. Not the way I want to," he whispered. "And when I do, you'll be begging me to do it again."

He could see how his words affected her. The girl didn't seem to have one ounce of control when it came to sex! But he'd already known that. Her numerous 'relationships' were one of the reasons he loathed her after all.

He deliberately touched her, slowly with just his fingertips, from the side of her breast down, just to prove to her that he could indeed touch her whenever he wanted. She bit her lip the whole time until she gasped weakly when he cupped her between her legs. She was still bare... and completely wet.

"I can do that to you anytime, Keri," he whispered. "Next time, I'm going to make sure we aren't interrupted. I wanna be inside you so bad... I'm going crazy thinking about you, Keri."

She let out a strangled cry as he continued to rub her. But just as she was about to let go, he stopped.

What? He'd already made her cum twice that day. A third time would have just made her greedy! Besides, if he left her high and dry like this, it pretty much insured he'd be all she'd think about for a while. And when he finally got to do her, she'd be completely willing.

He saw the coldness return to her eyes when she realised he wasn't going to touch her anymore and smirked at her.

"I'm not your friend or your girlfriend, Jeff. Don't think you can play games with me," she hissed. "We both know who always wins."

A challenge?

He grinned down at her, because he knew the only time she got to win was when he let her.

"Bring it," he chuckled. "When I want you, I'll have you, Keri. Whether I'm with Maria or not. There's nothing you can do about that because you want me just as bad."

Mentioning his girlfriend brought the guilt back in full force.

Dammit. He had to tell her he wanted space or something; to distance himself from her so that when he finally slept with Keri he wouldn't actually be cheating on her.

"We'll see about that. Now get the fuck out. Your girlfriend and I have a date."

He bit his lip to stop himself from commenting about that. He didn't want to reveal how much Maria meant to him, not when Keri could use it against him.

"I'll see you around, Keri," he said with a smirk as he walked around her.

That was when he noticed the key card sticking out of her bag by the table at the door. A quick look back showed Keri hadn't even turned to watch him leave, so he slipped the card in his pocket. They were booked into this hotel for two nights, and he fully intended to sleep with her before checkout. The key would come in handy.

"Try not to think about me too much."

"I don't think about you at all."

"Well, you will. Soon," he promised as he walked out of her room.

He needed a cold shower. And a little nap, just to get away from the insanity for a little while. He only hoped Keri wouldn't do something stupid, like tell his girlfriend that twice in one day he'd almost slept with her. And that he'd promised to go through with it really soon.

* * *

_The last thing anyone should do, after almost having sex with a guy, was to spend time with the guy's girlfriend._

_Especially if images of the guy's huge penis kept pushing themselves into your head._

_And it didn't help at all if you were incredibly horny._

Keri made a mental note of this as she sat across from Maria in the hotel bar.

How was it that she'd gone twenty four years without these feelings, then one day,' boom!'? It was driving her crazy. There was absolutely no logic to this. Jeff made her skin crawl. She hated him and his high and mighty attitude. She hated everything he stood for. She even hated the way he talked, the way he smiled... She hated him; fullstop.

So why was she feeling like this about him?

"So, tell me about yourself. What do you do? All I got from Jeff since I got with him was how evil you are," Maria chuckled.

She smiled at the redhead as she gulped down her lemonade. Maybe she should have ordered some alcohol, but the very thought of that made her nauseous. She still felt like that occasionally but it was so much better now.

"Jeff deserves everything he gets," she muttered, neatly avoiding telling her what she did for a living. "I don't know what you see in him."

"He's a nice guy."

She grunted as she ordered another glass of lemonade.

"Well, you can't deny he's gone out of his way to get you out of trouble enough times."

"He's told you about that?"

Jeff actually talked about her? Shocking.

"Not really, not in detail. But he was starting to worry that the only reason he hadn't heard from you the past few months was because you were dead," Maria chuckled.

"He was _hoping_ I was dead," she said bitterly while she eyed up the woman.

She was so pretty, she could do a whole lot better than Jeff. Why was she wasting her time? Why was she still with him? She'd hated Jeff before, but now that she knew what a lying cheat he was, she couldn't help hating him even more. Surely Maria, from spending so much time with him, had to suspect what Jeff was like? So why was she still there?

_Maybe because the sex is amazing_. _If he can do that with his fingers and his mouth, imagine what his huge dick can do._

She immediately cut that line of thought from her head. She didn't need to be imagining that right now.

"He wasn't hoping you were dead," Maria chastised. "He's a sweet guy; he wouldn't wish that on a fly. I think he cares about you; he wouldn't go to all this trouble to bail you out everytime if he didn't."

Poor, trusting girl. Why did Jeff have to put her in the middle of all this. He was the one who was cheating, yet from their conversation earlier, the guilt was most probably only on her conscious.

"He does it because of some misplaced sense of loyalty," she answered, brushing it off.

What she needed to do was find an excuse to leave. She'd never hung out with or cared about Jeff's girl's before, and now certainly wasn't the time to do it.

"You make him sound like a dick."

"A big dick," she put in, then briefly closed her eyes when images of what she'd just said assailed her again.

_Go! Now, now, NOW!_

"Are you okay?" Maria asked.

She opened her eyes and smiled at the other woman.

"I'm fine," she lied.

Even after a quick shower and change of clothes, she could still feel Jeff's touch on her. She'd never felt so sensitive in her life; every little movement she made seemed to somehow make her panties rub against her... She needed to go before she embarrassed herself.

"Are you thinking of Orton?"

Horrified, she looked at the redhead. Was it so obvious that she was thinking of a man?

"Don't look so shocked. I know the look on your face," Maria chuckled.

"I have to go," she mumbled.

"Oh, don't be embarrassed. I probably look like that when I think of Jeff," she said. "Orton's yummy, I don't blame you at all."

_But I'm thinking of Jeff too._

"I really have to go," she said, getting to her feet quickly. "Thanks for the drinks. I'll see you later."

Then she walked away, mentally kicking herself for agreeing to meet her in the first place.

But if she hadn't, no one would have come to interrupt her and Jeff earlier. And she'd have so much more to regret.

* * *

She decided against going to the house show that night because she knew Randy wasn't going to be there. Raw had a house show somewhere across the city, so he'd said he'd pick her up afterwards so they could go clubbing. She decided to take her time making herself look good for him.

Besides, the last thing she needed was to be forced into Jeff's company.

It had been a horrible afternoon and she just needed a little break from all of that. After leaving Maria downstairs, she'd been ready to find Jeff just so he could undo whatever it is he'd done to her. She didn't like feeling constantly aroused, even if the feeling was new to her.

But because the last thing she wanted was to actually sleep with him, she'd gone to her room instead, only to find she'd lost her key. So she'd had to go back downstairs for a replacement and she'd bumped into Matt and Shane checking in. Of course, being who they were, they'd instantly guessed that something was wrong and wrongfully thought Randy was behind it. Needless to say, even after telling them she was alright, neither of them were pleased that she was still going to go out with him later that night.

She laid out her outfit for the night on her bed and smirked. It wasn't something she normally wore because she had a hard enough time proving she wasn't a prostitute without adding to it by dressing so slutty out in public. Jeans and a nice top would normally have served her well. But tonight was different. Hopefully, after seeing her in that, Orton would relieve the feelings Jeff had woken.

It was funny how, for all those years, the last thing she'd wanted was casual sex. The last thing she'd wanted was to be like her mum. Now, just because of a few tumbles with Jeff, she was more than ready to sleep with Randy. She could even go as far as to say she was desperate for it.

What Jeff had done to her, the feelings he'd brought to the surface... they scared her. And it scared her even more that it was Jeff who'd done that. It made her question her whole theory that she had to love someone first before she slept with them. She didn't even like Jeff, yet when he'd touched her...

So now she was desperate to feel that way with someone else, someone she at least liked; with Randy. It would prove Jeff was nothing special and that this insanity was only temporary.

And if Randy made her feel like that and she ended up losing her virginity to him... well, so be it. She was twenty four; maybe it was time she lost it anyway.

* * *

Jeff had looked everywhere backstage for Keri, knowing he had to keep an eye on her if he didn't want her bringing trouble on his head. She hadn't been with any of her 'new friends' from the night before and she wasn't with Maria – thankfully – when he tracked his girlfriend to the women's locker room.

"Hey, baby," he said as he kissed her cheek. "Ready for your match?"

"As I'll ever be," she said as she continued to stretch.

"Have you seen Keri? I can't find her anywhere and the last time we left her alone she pissed off Taker."

"I heard about that," Maria chuckled. "No, I haven't seen her, not since she walked out on me this afternoon."

"She walked out on you?"

"I think she was mentally drooling over Orton," Maria chuckled again. "She had that look on her face when someone's thinking of doing very naughty things to someone else."

He had to stop himself from grinning. Keri hadn't been thinking of Orton, she'd been thinking of him.

"Well, if she thinks we'll let her get that close to Orton she has another thing coming," he said with mock annoyance.

"Randy's a good guy, once you get to know him."

He grunted something under his breath.

"Well, I'll see you after your match, okay? I need to find this girl before she burns the place down."

With another kiss, he left her to her warm up before heading back to catering. Matt, Shane and Adam were sitting together at one table. He frowned at this. While Matt had forgiven Adam for what he'd done, the Rated R Superstar hadn't been allowed back into their little group or even sat with them socially like this. He blamed Keri for this. If she hadn't treated him like he was her best friend the previous night, Adam wouldn't have been sitting with his family now.

He sat down in the empty seat next to his brother, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

"Where's Keri?" he asked straight away. "Who's watching her?"

"Relax," Shane said. "She's not here."

"She's getting ready for her date with Randy," Matt added.

Before he could react to this news, Adam asked, "Why the hell are you letting her go out with Orton? The guy's my friend but we all know he only wants one thing from women."

"Try explaining that to Keri," Shane grunted.

"Orton's going to break her heart," Adam said urgently. "Someone has to go and watch her."

"It's not like she's going to do anything stupid. She's still got a good head on her shoulder," Matt said.

On what planet would anyone ever think Keri had a good head on her shoulders? If she went out with Orton that night, she'd be overflowing with his sperm come morning when he threw her out!

"What do you mean? You still call her Cherry?" Adam asked Shane.

Shane grinned and nodded his head, which made both his brother and Adam grin, too. He frowned at them. He was missing something here, he was sure of it.

"But Orton's brand of charm has been known to work on even rocks," Adam continued. "Do you guys really want her to go up against that?"

"What can we do? She's grown," Matt shrugged.

"If she wants to sleep with Orton tonight, we can only be there for her tomorrow morning when he breaks her heart," Shane added.

Were these guys being serious? Really?

Getting up without a word of explanation, he stormed out of catering.

He'd be damned if he let another man touch her right under his nose.

* * *

They watched Jeff storm out and grinned at each other.

"There goes the Calvary," Shane chuckled.

"If she can somehow escape her room tonight, I think she'll have a pretty determined stalker wherever Orton decides to take her," Matt added.

"How did you know Jeff would react like that?" Adam asked. "I mean, I know he's always saving her skin one way or another, but he's never got involved with anything to do with her boyfriends. Unless we had to beat them up, that is."

"Things have changed with them recently."

"How? They don't fight as much?"

"I think Jeff's tired of fighting. And he's struggling with the fact that he does indeed care for her more than he admits to any of us," Matt answered.

"Yeah. You should have seen the way he reacted when she cried. He didn't know what to do with himself," Shane chuckled.

"So both of you think something is happening between them?"

"It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if it was," Shane said.

"Yeah. No more fighting, no more evil pranks, no breaking my furniture... I'll finally have a bit of peace in my house," Matt stated.

"So the only reason you want them together is to benefit you?" Adam laughed.

"I've spent a lot of money repairing things in my house. If all Jeff has to do is carry her off to his room and fuck her to stop her from throwing my priceless items at his head, bring it on," Matt shrugged.

Adam had nothing to say to that.

"What he means is, maybe she'll stay put if she has something to stay for," Shane said, frowning at his friend, probably to warn him that Adam was probably not the best person to say things like that to. "She's always disappearing. Maybe if she finds something with Jeff, she'll stay."

"Oh. Yeah, that actually sounds more like it," Adam said, "because I didn't think you guys would even entertain the idea of her sleeping with a man just for the sake of sleeping with him."

"If Jeff could have slept with her that time before she threw that brick through my 62 inch plasma, I'd have owed him big," Matt shrugged again. "The way I see it, the more he fucks her, the less time she'll have to trash my house."

Again, Adam had nothing to say to this.

Matt then burst out laughing at the look on his face.

"I'm just kidding, Adam," he said. "The day Jeff sleeps with Keri, I'll give everything I own away. Even if somehow Jeff got past his aversion of her, Keri would never let him touch her, not for a million bucks."

* * *

He heard her in the bathroom when he walked into her room and walked straight there. She was bent over the toilet throwing her guts up.

That was when he remembered the reason she was even on the road with them to start off with. The girl was sick. There was something wrong with her.

For a second, he fought with the protective feelings again as he hovered at the door. He didn't want to think about how fragile she looked, not when he intended to drill into her to so bad she'd probably break.

So he retreated and waited for her to come out.

He was flipping through the channels on the TV when she more or less stumbled out, dressed in just a short, silky robe. She was completely naked under it. He knew this because he could see it.

But she wasn't well, and he wasn't a complete monster. He was hardly going to do her when she looked so ill.

"You feeling better?"

She jumped a mile in the air when he said that before coldly glaring at him and clutching her robe to her.

"The fuck is wrong with you?!" she shrieked. "How did you get in here anyway?"

He just shrugged, not willing to reveal he had a key. The last thing he wanted was for her to switch rooms.

"Well, get the fuck out. I need to get ready."

"Ready for what?"

"I'm going out. I overslept, Randy will be here any minute and I still have to do my hair."

"You've just been sick," he said, standing up. "You're not going anywhere; you need to be in bed."

"Let me guess. With you?"

"When I have you in bed, sweetheart, the last thing you'll be doing is resting. That's not what you need right now."

"Aw. He has a heart," she said sarcastically as she grabbed her phone from the bed.

This drew his attention to the outfit that was neatly laid there, all two square inches of it. Was that a skirt or a belt? And if she was wearing that, were would her underwear go?

"Aw, hell no!" he said, his Southern accent coming to the forefront. "You're not wearing that."

There was no way he was going to let her dress in that for another man. If they were going to a club, Orton would be able to easily do her, even on a crowded dancefloor, without drawing much attention to them.

Keri just rolled her eyes and grabbed her clothes before walking back to the bathroom. She slammed and locked the door before he even had a chance to react.

He paced for what seemed like hours, though it was probably only twenty minutes. He needed a plan. He needed to stop this. He couldn't let Orton get his hands on her, not yet. After he'd had her and got rid of this annoying sexual frustration, Orton could knock himself out. But until then, the very thought of another man touching her...

When she came out, he took one look at her and was ready to tie her to the bed there and then. The tiny skirt over her juicy butt, the tight top that was more or less a bra, the strappy high heels on her feet...

She'd done her hair and makeup while she'd been in there; she'd piled her hair up on her head and done her make-up lightly. The face of an angel on the body of a demon.

It robbed him of his thoughts. He forgot why he couldn't let her walk out of the room. Especially when she realised what she was doing to him and smirked that wicked smirk of hers.

"You okay there, Nero?" she chuckled as she bent over and picked a purse up.

He had no idea what she'd just asked, and if he had, he couldn't have answered her anyway. All the blood had rushed from his head to his dick to make him harder than he'd ever been.

He could totally see up her skirt! While he'd been proved wrong about the underwear, the thongs were just the same as wearing nothing.

"I can't let you go out like that," he whispered, taking a few steps towards her. "Orton will be all over you..."

"That's the plan," Keri smile.

That got through to him.

The plan? She was actually planning on sleeping with the guy tonight?

"If all you want is sex, you know you don't have to look far," he growled angry as he quickly closed the gap between them.

"I want sex alright. Just not with you."

"Well, the only man who'll be touching you like that is me. You got that?" he asked as he grabbed her around her ass and pulled her forward. "When are you going to learn? What we have here... this sick, physical need to fuck... it won't go away. Not unless we do something about it."

"I _am_ doing something about it," she growled, pulling herself away from him.

"Sleeping with someone else won't make it go away," he said.

"Oh, just go away, Jeff. Forget today and all the shit that happened because I plan on doing that."

"Good luck with that," he grunted.

"I don't need luck. Come tomorrow, all this will be a distant memory. Orton will do me so good, I won't even remember _your_ name!"

Something welled up inside him, something he felt constantly when it came to Keri but was reluctant to put a name to it. Before he knew what he was doing, he'd grabbed her ass again under her little belt skirt. She became putty in his hands immediately.

So much for all her big talk!

"Baby... no matter what Orton does to you, he'll never give it to you as good as I will," he whispered as he dropped his lips to her neck. "You wanna know how I know?"

She whimpered as gently bit on her neck and sucked, and his hands continued to press her against him.

"Because I only have to look at you to make you cum. As much as I hate to say this, you'll never get that with anyone else. It's you and me... our chemistry..."

He pulled the zip of her skirt down and smirked when her legs wrapped around him of their own accord. She was learning.

"Don't you want to find out what it'll be like, Keri? How I'll feel inside you?" he whispered.

No way was he letting Orton have a piece of this. Kissing her neck again, he ripped her skirt straight down from the zip to the hem. Keri was too wrapped up in how he was making her feel to notice so he gave her little top the same treatment.

"Do you want me?" he asked.

"Yes," she whispered back.

He grinned as he set her back down on her feet. It killed him, but now wasn't the time to sleep with her. She'd break.

"That wasn't so hard to admit, was it?" he asked.

As soon as he said that, she seemed to come back to her senses.

"You sick man," she spat out as she covered her breasts.

"You might want to find something else to wear. Randy will be here soon," he smirked.

That was when she noticed what he'd done to her clothes.

"You dick! Do you know how much these cost me?" she shouted as she picked her ruined clothes up.

"Can't have been that much; there's hardly anything there," he said as he walked to sit back down.

He ignored the nasty words that came out of her mouth as she frantically searched her bag and was still grinning to himself when she slammed the bathroom door.

But his humour was short lived. The knock at the door signalled Orton's arrival.

He contemplated just locking Keri in the bathroom so no one would answer but Keri would probably scream loud enough for Orton to hear her and break the door down. With a sigh, he walked over to the door. He opened it but the last thing he was going to do was invite him in.

If the younger man was surprised to see him he didn't show it.

What did Keri see in the guy? Honestly. He was like a reed with a few well placed muscles. And his ears were monstrous. He had to get rid of him. He'd be doing Keri a favour.

"She's not feeling well. You'll have to do this another time," he growled.

Orton chuckled as if he didn't believe him.

"Can I see her at least?" he asked.

"No."

He would have slammed the door in his face as well if Keri hadn't rushed out of the bathroom apologising for keeping him waiting.

"Wow. She's recovered pretty quick," Randy said quietly before he chuckled again.

He resisted the urge to punch him in that mouth of his.

Before he knew it, Keri was kissing the guy on the cheek and blushing at his empty compliments before he whisked her away.

There was only one thing he could do now. He had to follow them. He had to make sure he ended up in her bed that night, not Orton. Whatever it took.

He really couldn't take being so incredibly hard for much longer.

* * *

**Guess what. Next chapter shit hits the fan. Ha!**

**Then the chapter after that, more shit hits the fan.**

**And I really want Jeff to just do her good. I can't wait. (yes, I have a dirty mind... greatly elevated by being pregnant!)**

**Thank you for your reviews _HardyDXEvolutionChick, World's Biggest Jerichoholic, xSamiliciousx, LegacyChick, BourneBetter67, JenniferRayne, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, alana2awesome, Bingobaby, _and _dehlia666. _**


	11. Chapter 11

He'd rushed downstairs to find a bunch of people from all three rosters in the lobby, all dressed up. Randy and Keri had been among them, with Keri in her element as she'd stood with a bunch of men – Orton's minions and the 'new friends' she'd made the other night.

He'd asked Morrison what was going on and had been promptly invited to go clubbing with them.

"We're waiting for taxis because we're all planning on getting shit faced tonight, no one's driving," John had explained. "You can ride with me; we're all going to the same place."

So he'd found himself in this exclusive club. Everyone was probably a 'someone' and none of the fans that usually stalked them were allowed in. Had it not been for Keri, he probably would have enjoyed himself a lot, because he liked nothing better than a good time.

In the dim lighting, Keri looked more like the devil she was; tempting... irresistible... He knew a lot of men were looking at her but she seemed to have eyes for just Orton. The way she was pushing herself onto him, rubbing her body over his... it was so obvious what she wanted. The slut.

He was just so glad he'd ruined her clothes. She'd had to wear a pair of jeans and a more decent top. Of course, being who she was, anything she wore still looked lethal on her. He had no idea how she managed to do that. Maria normally had to take hours to achieve a look like that, but Keri had managed it in a hurried five minutes.

He'd spent all night watching them. Everytime she'd gone on the dance floor, he'd had to make sure Orton wasn't doing anything inappropriate to her hidden behind all the other people. And everytime she'd gone to the toilet he'd had to make sure Orton wasn't with her, doing her in one of the cubicles. He wasn't sure if Keri knew he was there, but Randy certainly did. He'd made sure of that.

He hadn't spoken to him but he certainly hoped his eyes had done the talking. If that man thought of touching even a single hair of her body, he was going to die.

For some reason, Orton found this amusing. He'd been flirting with her all night just to spite him, whispering rubbish in her ear; and when he'd danced with her, he'd made sure to let him know just how much he'd enjoyed Keri's body all over his.

He was this close to just hauling her out of the club and taking her back to her room. He would have too, if it wasn't for the fact that everyone would then know what his problem was and probably pass it on to Maria. That wouldn't end well.

And who was to say Orton wouldn't say something to Maria, too? He had no doubt the bastard knew why he'd followed them, and he'd probably caught him drooling over Keri a few times. Ever since he'd touched her, it was becoming harder to control himself. Orton and his girlfriend were, for some reason, friends, so if he told Maria about this – which he probably would if he thought it would get him off his back and allow him to nail Keri – he'd be devastated.

But not devastated enough to stop trying to sleep with Keri.

He needed that more than he needed air to breathe.

* * *

Randy and his friends turned out to be exactly what she needed. Though there had been no sparks with Randy, he'd turned out to be a pretty decent guy. She hadn't stopped laughing all night because he and his friends were hilarious, and they seemed to have just accepted her into their little group as if they'd known each other for years.

It felt good being around them, forgetting for a while what was happening in her life.

But in a way, it was kind of disappointing. She'd expected a lot out of this night, she'd expected Randy to be all over her. Instead she was just one of the guys. It kinda messed with her a little. Was she not good enough for the guy?

She battled with her self esteem constantly. She'd been in a lot of hurtful relationships in her life; a lot of men had walked away from her because of her values. Matt and the guys assured her those losers only said those horrible things to her because they were pissed they never got into her pants, but a lot of what they said stuck with her. What if all anyone wanted form her was sex? She knew she wasn't pretty, so she had to question what other reason they'd have had to be with her in the first place.

By midnight, after thinking about it a while, she decided she had to ask.

"Why did you ask me out?"

"Excuse me?" Randy asked, like she'd asked a stupid question.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying myself," she said, stumbling over herself a little bit. "But we've been here for hours and you haven't made a single move to show you're interested in me. I'm just curious."

"I asked you out because I want to get to know you better," Orton smiled.

Something didn't ring true.

"Did I misread the signals before?" she asked.

"No. If you could read my thoughts they'd probably shock the hell out of you. I've imagined doing some pretty nasty things to you, Keri."

So it _was_ all about the sex. He was just like the rest of them.

But considering that was all she'd wanted from him tonight, she didn't feel like she had the right to be upset.

"So... what changed your mind?"

"You're taken," he answered.

"What?! No I'm not," she said.

But Randy just chuckled and put his arm around her.

"I like you. I'm enjoying myself, and I can honestly tell you that's something I don't normally say about women if there's no sex involved," he said. "I say we do this friendship thing you talked about earlier and see where it goes. It could be the start of something beautiful. If I were to sleep with you, I have a feeling I'd just bring a whole lot of trouble on my head."

"Friends?" she asked, wrinkling her nose a little even as a little smile formed on her lips. "I don't know. I was kinda hoping I'd get to sleep with you. If all you're offering is friendship, then maybe I should find out if Cena's offering anything."

"Don't you dare," he growled. "If I'm not going to have you, none of these bastards will."

She chuckled as she looked up at him.

He was easy to talk to. Maybe friendship was a good idea.

* * *

She hadn't enjoyed herself like that in a long time. The last time anyone had done body shots on her was... she couldn't even remember. And she couldn't remember the last time she'd danced like that either.

Once it was settled that she wasn't going to sleep with Orton, she hadn't felt like sleeping with anyone else either. But her confidence had been restored by the countless men who'd approached her and asked for a dance or to buy her a drink or for her number. Of course, Randy had scared them all away, living up to his word that no one was going to have her if he couldn't.

She was still a bit cloudy as to why he'd think he couldn't – especially when she caught him looking at her like he wanted to sleep with her, but seeing as she'd allowed herself a couple of drinks she wasn't going to think about that until she was sober.

A lot of the people they'd come out with had one by one returned to the hotel in the course of the night. Hunter and Shawn had lasted a bit longer than most, but even they hadn't been a match for her. Only the four men she'd spent most of the night with remained; Randy, John, Ted and Cody.

Dawn was approaching when they decided to go find some food somewhere, reluctant for the night to end.

"You know, I don't think I've enjoyed myself like that in a long time," John said when they'd ordered.

"You haven't lived till you've been out with me," she smirked.

"What a big head we have," Ted chuckled.

"Reminds me of someone else I know," Cody agreed, looking pointedly at Randy.

"Hey, the girl's just telling it like it is," Randy said, putting his arm over her shoulders. "You guys are like old men anyway, you don't know how to have fun. I hope you've learned a thing or two from this lady so that the next time we go out together I don't have to ditch you."

"You ditch us, whether we're fun or not," Cody said. "The first woman you see___"

Ted kicked him under the table to stop him talking. He was probably trying to stop Cody from putting his foot in it.

"I know all about the women," she said with shrug. "Randy and I are just friends, anyway."

"It's not my fault they all want me," Randy said with a smirk.

"Wait, you two are just friends?" John asked. "Dude, you could have told us this earlier. You could probably have had a better night. With me."

Randy pulled her closer and glared at his friend.

"Or not," John amended with his hands up. "Geez. Talk about mixed signals!"

"I don't know why you're complaining, John. How many numbers did you get because of me?" she said. "Face it. I'm like the best wingman ever."

"True," John agreed. "But it would have been even better if they were girls' numbers."

And so the playful banter continued until the sun came up and they all reluctantly agreed they needed to go. Raw had done their live show the previous night so they were all heading home that morning. Smackdown and ECW were staying on for their last shows. Then she would also head home. She wasn't sure she was looking forward to that; she'd really started to enjoy herself.

But she knew she had to. Reality was calling her, and the sooner she got back to work the better.

At the hotel, when the elevator stopped on the guys' floor, she gave Ted, Cody and John quick hugs and promised to keep in touch. Then it was just Randy and her in the elevator. She so wished she could feel something for him; he was so beautiful she was sure her eyes would hurt from looking at him too much.

"What?" Randy asked.

"I was just wishing you hadn't told me all that rubbish about being friends so I could jump on you right now," she smiled.

"Tell you what. If I kiss you again and you feel something there, I'll forget all that crap and spend the rest of the morning in your bed," he said. "You have no idea how much I want that. But if you don't feel anything, I say goodbye at your door and we'll keep in touch."

"Why would you care if I felt something or not? I thought guys didn't worry about stuff like that as long as they got off."

"I don't normally, but in this case, I don't want to feel like I'm being used."

"_You_ use girls all the time! I've heard about you, Mr Find-'em-Fool-'em-Fuck-'em-Forget-'em."

"I use them for sex, yes. And they use me, too. It's always mutual; I don't need to fool anyone. But you want to use me to keep another man away from you. As much as I'd love to oblige you, I really don't need to be put in the middle of anything."

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," she said, not quite meeting his eyes.

"Of course you do," he chuckled. "But we can be friends. I don't mess with anyone's woman, especially if I have to work with the guy. It gets too messy and affects my work. And work is the one thing in my life I got going for me."

Where the hell did he get all this from? She hadn't said one word about Jeff at all.

"I've got no idea what you're talking about. Really," she said. "I'm not with anyone, and I don't want to be with anyone."

"If you say so. But how about that kiss now? I'd really like it if you proved me wrong."

Before she knew it, he was descending on her. She found herself praying really hard for that spark, or at least for the ability to fake it, just so she could actually sleep with this gorgeous man.

He tasted really good; better than that morning maybe because she'd had a chance to spend some time with him. There was no denying how much he wanted her; she could feel him through his jeans. When he groaned against her mouth and wrapped her legs around him so he could have better access to her, she felt him between her legs. With his tongue, he begged for entrance and she obliged, praying for the lighting to strike like she'd felt with Jeff.

She felt nothing.

She kissed him back desperately, grinding herself against him as her hands roamed his perfect body, trying to push back the sickening thought she'd just had: what if she could only feel this way for Jeff, just like he'd said?

She put more of herself into the kiss, pulling his shirt up so she was against his bare skin. She _needed_ to feel something...

"Keri," he whispered breathlessly as he broke the kiss. "If you don't stop right now, I'm going to carry you to your room and fuck you. Real hard. Possibly all day. Is that what you really want?"

The elevator doors opened and she reluctantly opened her eyes.

No. Sleeping with Randy wasn't really what she wanted. Like all those other times with all those other men, when it came down to it, she couldn't go through with it.

She sighed and slid down his body.

"I'm sorry, Randy," she whispered.

"It's all good. Nothing a cold shower won't fix," he smiled, taking her hand. "Come on, I'll walk you to your door."

They walked out and turned the corner to walk down the long hallway to her door, still hand in hand. To his credit, he didn't go psycho on her like all her ex- boyfriends after she'd left them hard like that. He seemed content to put that little incident behind him, as if it hadn't happened, even though she'd felt how turned on he'd been.

Funny. She never thought he'd turn out to have such principals. If he'd just carried her to her room, not allowing her a chance to think, she probably would have gone all the way. Maybe.

"So tell me again why I have to keep this secret that you have a totally awesome job," Randy said with a smirk.

"You try telling the Hardys that. It doesn't matter to them how much money I make every night, the fact that I let men ogle me is a big no," she grunted.

"You know, the night I saw you on stage, I hadn't planned on staying. I only had big bills on me, but when you came on, I couldn't help stuffing them down you panties," he laughed.

"That was quite possibly the first time anyone gave me so many hundred dollar bills in one go," she laughed.

"It was worth it. You're beautiful, Keri. Every inch of you."

* * *

It had been the worst night of his life.

Watching all those men lining up to do body shots on her while she lay on the bar... Watching her flirt like that with them, enjoying their touch... Especially Orton's. When that big eared piece of shit had done his shots on her, he'd made sure he'd been looking at him. When his tongue had licked her body before he'd given him that disgusting smirk of his... He should have killed him then.

And then it had only gone worse.

He'd lost them when they left the club. He'd assumed they were going back to the hotel, but when he'd let himself into Keri's room, it had been empty. Then he'd found John and Randy's room and knocked for a while only to discover it was empty, too. Ted and Cody's room had yielded the same result.

So he'd spent the last couple of hours either pacing Keri's room or the lobby, losing his mind at the images of what she was probably doing with these men.

Orton had probably realised that he wasn't going to let anything happen and taken her somewhere else. He'd probably been doing her the last few hours. Maybe he'd even let his boys have a little go at it. Keri was a wild one; a gang bang was probably something she'd enjoy a lot. All those men... paying her the attention she loved so much... doing her through the bed... or in a shower... or on the damned floor...

When the sun finally came out, he was ready to kill someone.

He should have dragged her out of that club and brought her back to the hotel at a decent hour.

So all this was his fault.

It was his fault that other men were enjoying what he so desperately needed.

When the hotel staff had started looking at him as if he was crazy, he'd taken his pacing and muttering outside. Keri wasn't going to get away with this. She was enjoying all those men touching her, kissing her, fucking her... yet she still found the thought of letting _him_ do that repulsive.

He shouldn't still want to do her, knowing what she'd been doing with those men, but he couldn't help himself. Briefly, he wondered what that said about him. He had a beautiful girlfriend, so no one could say he was desperate for sex. He was just desperate for Keri. He didn't know why. She was filthy. Trash. A whore just like her mother. It should have been easy to walk away.

With a loud groan, he sat down on one of the benches outside and watched as everything slowly started to wake. It woke so slowly, he'd gone through a whole pack of cigarettes by the time the sun finally came out.

Today was the absolute last day he was going to have these feelings for Keri. They were unhealthy.

When he saw her, he was going to force her into a shower to wash those other men off her body, then he was going to fuck her till she passed out.

Then all this would be over.

As this thought settled in his head, he saw a taxi drive to the entrance and the people he had been thinking of stumble out. They were laughing loudly and Cena was carrying her in his arms as they walked in.

Aw, was the poor thing too tired to walk? Well, he'd give it an hour or so before she got too tired to even laugh like she was doing.

He resisted the urge to run over to knock all of them out. He was outnumbered, so he wasn't going to be that stupid.

So, taking the final pulls of his cigarette, he gave them a few minutes. Then he followed and called the elevator. He'd go to her room first, and if she wasn't there, he really would kill those other men.

The elevator stopped on her floor and he walked out. He heard her voice and stopped. Then he heard Orton's voice.

He turned the corner and saw them walking hand in hand, like a couple of lovers. It inflamed him a lot more.

"It was worth it. You're beautiful, Keri. Every inch of you," Orton said.

So it was true. Orton had taken her somewhere where they couldn't be disturbed to fuck her.

He'd actually taken a few steps to punch Orton's face in when he heard what Keri said next.

* * *

"No I'm not," she said. "Men just like my body for some reason. That's why I cashed in on it and became a stripper."

"You're gorgeous!" Randy exclaimed. "How can you not know that?"

She only grunted. Men said that to her a lot, but she knew better. She looked in the mirror everyday, didn't she? And her mother and sisters told her how ugly she was often enough.

"How much do you make a night?" he asked.

"Quite a lot. Well, by my standards, anyway."

She made a lot and almost all of it went back to paying off her debt. Her massive debt with its spiralling interest that she would struggle to pay for the next few years.

"By any standards, I'm guessing. I wasn't the only one trying to get close to you, and I, alone, stuffed more than a thousand dollars down your panties that night," he said. "If it wasn't for the horrible food in catering, I'd have starved that week."

She laughed.

"And I ate like a fucking queen. Maybe you should come watch me again and make sure you only have the big bills."

"Over my dead body!"

She froze at the sound of that voice and turned back in horror.

"Jeff!"

She didn't realise she was gripping Randy's hand tightly until he pulled her to stand behind him. She'd never seen Jeff look so angry, not even after all the crap she'd done before.

"Calm down, man," Randy said.

Jeff just closed his eyes and clenched his fist.

Was he going to hit her? He'd never done that before but in that moment, she couldn't put it past him.

"You're a stripper?" Jeff asked. His voice was deceptively calm. "That's where you know each other from? A fucking strip club?"

"Keri, I think you should come with me," Randy suggested, not taking his eyes off Jeff for a second.

"She's not going anywhere with you," Jeff said to him.

No, she hadn't thought he'd let her go.

"She can decide that for herself," Orton said, taking a step closer to the other man.

"I'll stay," she said quickly, pulling him back.

She never crossed Jeff when he was _really_ angry. She wasn't about to start now.

"Keri, I don't think that's a good idea," Randy said, turning to look at her.

"He won't hurt me," she assured him quickly, even though she wasn't quite sure of that.

Randy looked in her eyes for a moment then nodded his head.

"I'll be here till noon. Call me if you need me," he said.

Then he kissed her cheek and backed off.

"Get in," Jeff growled at her.

She could tell he was really holding himself back. Quickly, she found her keycard and opened the door.

"Jeff, let me explain," she started quickly.

* * *

He didn't give her a chance to speak.

The moment the door closed behind them, he couldn't help himself. Matt would probably have handled her a lot better, but he was just too angry to think about that.

"The fuck were you thinking?" he growled, grabbing her arm and dragging her until he dropped her on one of the beds.

"That is none of your business," Keri said, even though she didn't meet his eyes.

"You've been taking your clothes off and God knows doing what else for money and all you can say is it's none of my business?" he shouted.

All she did was look away.

"Why did you have to do this? Don't you leach enough off Matt?"

"Don't _you_?" she shot back quickly.

His eyes narrowed angrily on her but she didn't even flinch. He was reminded all over again how she was such a waste of time. There was just no helping her.

"What else have you been doing for the love of money? Huh? Who's been buying you all those pretty little thing that you like so much?" he asked quietly.

"I've bought my own pretty things," she snapped.

"You lying bitch! You couldn't take care of yourself if your life depended on it," he growled angrily. "You've been sleeping with them haven't you?"

"What?!" Keri shrieked.

"Yeah. You've been sleeping with each and every one of those filthy perverts, doing '_private shows' _or whatever you call it," he argued. "Did you beg them like you begged me? Huh? Did you make them feel like they were on top of the fucking world when they touched you, when they fucked you?"

The more he thought about it the more it made sense. They hadn't really seen her in six months. She'd come over briefly over Christmas, but she'd left a couple of days after Matt's New Year's Bash, and Matt hadn't even given her money like he normally did. And since he knew, without a doubt, that she needed someone to show her the way, there was just no way she would have lasted out there by herself.

And her actions with all the men at the club a few hours ago hadn't helped her case much.

"I'm not even going to answer that," Keri snapped.

"Because you know you can't lie to me. God, Keri... The fuck would you do that for?" he asked, running his hand through his hair as he turned away from her, disgusted.

"You can't tell me what I can and can't do," she spat out to his back.

He turned to her angrily.

"I couldn't give a fuck what you do! But if it affects my brother, then you better believe I'm dealing with it," he snapped. "The fuck do you think you are? Matt has been nothing but good to you. Fifteen fucking years and this is how you repay him? Doing something you know he hates with a passion?"

Maybe that hit a nerve, he wasn't sure, but she had the grace to look shamefully away.

"I should have used a belt on you when I had the chance," he continued, "but knowing you, you'd probably have enjoyed that, you dirty bitch."

How the hell could she be a stripper? Letting strangers touch her like that? Letting them put their filthy hands on her?

He was beyond angry right now; he knew if he didn't get away from her soon he'd lose it and do something he'd regret.

"I'm going to get Matt," he sighed wearily as he walked to the door. "I can't deal with this."

This was too much for one day. And the day hadn't even fucking started yet.

"No! Jeff, wait," Keri said, rushing to grab his arm. "Don't tell Matt, it'll kill him."

Didn't she care that it had killed _him_, too? Of course not. Keri didn't care about him.

"Get off me, Keri. I can't bear to look at you right now."

"Jeff, I'll do anything. Just... Please," she begged. "You can't tell Matt."

He grunted as he turned to look at her.

"Right now, there isn't a damn thing you could offer me that would make me change my mind."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

He frowned as he looked at her.

Was she being serious? The one thing he'd wanted from her for so long she was using to buy him?

She took a few steps backwards and slowly peeled her top off her body. She was braless.

He willed himself not to react. He was too angry with her right now and too disgusted. But his body betrayed him as it always did.

He swallowed as he watched her peel her tight jeans off, too. She had those damned thongs from earlier on.

"What do you say, Jeff? Can we keep this between us?"

"You're unbelievable Keri," he grunted. "I know the last thing you want is to sleep with me. But you'd sell yourself to the devil himself to get your own way."

"No! It's not like that," she protested, coming forward to grab his arm again.

Maybe she forgot she was naked. Maybe she planned it. But her breasts pressed against his arm, burning him, and his fingers were just mere millimetres from her the heat of her core.

He hissed down at her, momentarily forgetting his anger.

"Come on, Jeff," she said, pulling him towards the bed.

He didn't know why he couldn't do it. Keri giving herself to him... it was what he'd always wanted. But all the images floating in his head, Keri with all those men, all those strangers... they were killing him.

She lay back on her bed, eyes locked on his, begging him.

But he didn't want her like this. He didn't want her this way.

"I can't," he whispered.

"You don't want me anymore?" she asked.

He was going to confess he wanted her all the time. He was going to confess he'd felt like that for years. But he was saved from making a fool of himself when her phone rang.

"Answer it. It might be Matt."

He remembered his brother saying he'd check on her in the morning, to see if Orton had broken her heart or not. Maybe he should have left the whole mess to him.

Panicking, Keri found her phone and checked the caller ID.

"It's Doctor Jenkins," she frowned before she answered.

He couldn't help looking at her near naked body as she spoke.

"Yes, this is Keri Christos," she confirmed.

Maybe now was the time to go. Once he had a chance to think about this, he'd speak to Matt.

"I don't understand. I thought those tests were just routine."

That got his attention.

"You said I had a bug__"

What more could this day throw at him? He sighed and sat on the bed, knowing he was in for another shock.

"Well, you need new equipment. That's not possible. I already told you I've never___"

"I don't care if you did the tests three times, the results are completely wrong. I can prove it."

He frowned at this. So they found something wrong with her. They'd proved him right. He'd seen it from the very beginning. The question now was... what?

He immediately thought of something terminal and found himself thinking that if he was proved wrong, he'd let her strip to her little heart's content.

"Yes, I've been nauseous and throwing up. I told you all this when I came."

Another pause. Another terrible scenario played in his head.

"Um... I don't know. Three months ago maybe," she said, finally losing the fight in her as she sat heavily on the bed.

"I'll come in tomorrow," she said finally before letting the phone slide from her hands.

"What is it?" he asked straight away.

She'd lost some colour and was staring blindly in front of her.

"I'm pregnant."

He felt like he'd been punched in the gut.

Pregnant? Another man had planted their seed in her? He felt... hurt. He could admit that much. It was one thing to know she slept around. It was quite another for her to carry another man's child.

He stood up and walked towards the door.

"Well, what did you expect? You take your clothes off and fuck strangers for a living," he snapped as he ran his hands through his multi-coloured hair. "You fucking disgust me, Keri."

"You don't understand. As far as I know, I've never... I'm a virgin," she whispered.

That got his attention.

He turned around to face her as he burst into laughter. Keri a virgin? That had to be the joke of the fucking century.

"I'm serious," she whispered again, this time letting out a strangled cry for good measure.

Why would she lie to him like this? She obviously thought he was some sort of fucking idiot if she thought he'd believe that bullshit.

Just like that his laughter died down.

The girl was a whore. She stripped for money. And she fucked for money. She'd spent all night giving it out for free. And now she was fucking pregnant. Probably diseased, too.

All his anger returned in full force.

He should have left when he had the chance. It was too late now.

"You a virgin, Keri?" he growled as he unbuckled his jeans and let them fall to his ankles. His boxers followed.

He stood there completely exposed. His anger and sexual frustration now combined to form a single, overwhelming force. He was harder than concrete. He was quite sure he'd be able to poke a hole through any hard surface.

He bent down to search his pockets before kicking his shoes, jeans and boxers off completely.

"Prove it," he growled, holding the foil packet to her face.

* * *

**I bet you can't wait to see if she'll 'prove it'! I see bad things in Keri's very near future. Ha!**

**So she's going to see the doctor the next day and well know more of what's going on with that.**

**I was going to make two chapters out of this one but decided to just give it to you as it is since you've waited a while for it. Thank you for your lovely reviews, please keep 'em coming coz they make me happy. Sorry it's taken this long to update. Hospitals, doctors, midwives... hate 'em.**

**I haven't updated Amazing Grace this time because I had to make a few changes in the chapters I have. Sorry. Please enjoy and don't forget to leave a review.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Happy Valentine's.**

**WARNING: Sex. Lots of it.**

"What?"

Keri turned her head to look at him, noticing, finally, his naked state. He saw her eyes linger on his dick, widening slightly as if she was shocked.

Yeah, right! He wasn't going to fall for the 'I'm a virgin' crap.

"You were ready to 'lose your virginity' to me before the doctor called," he growled, using air quotes. "I accept your offer."

"Jeff... This isn't a joke," Keri whispered.

"Of course it isn't," he answered as he pushed her onto her back and knelt on the edge of the bed between her legs. "If I don't do something about this," – he pointed to his dick – "in the next few seconds, I'll probably die."

"Jeff, don't..." Keri whispered. "I can't do this right now."

For someone who didn't want it, she wasn't doing a good job convincing him. She just lay there, as if she was waiting for it.

"Well, I can," he said, roughly ripping her thongs off. "Forgive me if we skip the foreplay. I haven't had much luck getting past that lately."

He took a second to admire her exposed womanhood, but only a second as he was too angry to do anything else. He licked his fingers and stuck one inside her while his thumb rubbed her, not because he wanted to make her feel good but because he just needed to wet her up a little bit so he could slide into her. He didn't care if she got off or not. He didn't care if she enjoyed it or not. He just wanted to punish her for all the crap that was running through his head.

And he wanted to get rid of his damn erection once and for all.

His touch made her gasp and squirm a little against him. He smirked at that. So much for all her acting! Virgin? Please! No virgin could do what he'd already seen her do when he touched her. All that came with experience.

Then immediately his eyes went cold. The few times he'd touched her, he'd felt awed by her response to him. Now he just felt sickened. Was she like that with the other guys? Was she that easy? Could any man make her mewl and beg the way he did?

Of course they could! Because she was so fucking easy.

Roughly, he flipped her tiny body over. The last thing he wanted to see was her face while he did what he needed to do; not when he'd just discovered he was nothing special.

"Jeff... please... not like this," she whimpered.

"Not like what? It's not like I'm raping you, is it?" he snapped angrily as he slipped his protection on. "You asked for it."

"Please."

He ignored her while he roughly bent her one leg at the knee and pushed it up so her firm and juicy bottom lifted up. He resisted the urge to caress it, instead, bringing his palm down on it as hard as he could. She screamed loudly and tried to move away but he held her in place. She was a filthy whore, she deserved it. She didn't deserve all the things he'd imagined doing to her, even if he was actually dying to do them to her. She didn't deserve his lips or hands on her body, and she certainly didn't deserve being treated like the most precious thing in the world.

Hard and fast. That was how she was going to get it. Like the slut she was.

Thinking like this made him angry again, making him thrust into her none too gently. Very deeply. So deep she cried out his name in pain.

She most certainly wasn't a virgin.

But her muscles were so tight against him, so incredibly tight...

He cursed her mentally because he was way too angry to enjoy himself the way he'd wanted.

He knew he was huge and that doing it doggy style would allow him to push into her deeper than the missionary position. Normally, he would have taken a bit of care. But not this time.

He thrust all of himself into her, forcing her to stay in place when she would have pulled her leg down and lowered herself onto the bed.

"Jeff... please."

He wasn't listening. He would never listen to anything she said ever again. After this, he was _so_ done with her, with everything. Even if she got herself into trouble again, he'd tell her to fuck off.

He pulled out of her excruciatingly slowly before thrusting deeply again and she cried out, this time in undeniable ecstasy. The sweet sound penetrated his angry haze, and when it was coupled with the hot muscles gripping him it made him completely forget why he'd been angry in the first place.

He ran his hands down her back, groaning when she shivered at his touch and arched so he sank even deeper into her.

"Keri... so good," he gasped.

He grasped her hips tightly and began gently pushing in and out of her, building up his pace as her noises became louder and louder, her mutterings unintelligible to his ears, but his body understanding every whimper.

He'd never known a woman could feel so good. Even his fantasies, where he'd imagined doing this over and over, couldn't come close.

"Jeff... oh, Jeff..."

He smirked, realising he'd reduced her to just babbling. He liked the sound of his name on her lips. He liked the way she was pushing herself back against him. He liked the way her knuckles had whitened as she gripped the bedding. And he like the way her beautiful hair flew all over the place as she threw her head from side to side.

He let go of one hip to ghost his fingers down her side until they were at her center, right where they were joined. First he just placed his palm on her, feeling himself moving in and out, feeling the heat and the wetness. It felt incredible.

Then he placed his middle finger on her clit.

"Fuck!" Keri screamed, and he let out a loud moan at the same time.

Just that little touch had forced her to clench around him, increasing the friction, and that in turn had increased the pleasure a million fold.

He rubbed her nub a little, and she clenched a little bit more.

Virgin, his foot! She was very much a pro.

"How the fuck are you doing that?" he gasped. "So good..."

Her only answer was to scream louder.

It seemed impossible that he would harden any more, but he did. He felt his length thicken inside her and her muscles stretch to accommodate him in their heat.

"Years... I've wanted this for years..." he whispered breathlessly.

Maybe it had been the anticipation that had made it seem as if she would be a brilliant lay. Maybe all the waiting and fantasising and cold showers had made this what it was. It probably wouldn't be the same the second time round.

He rubbed her again, this time without stopping and groaned when her insides gripped him again. This was when he lost all rational thoughts and his body took over.

He quickened his pace as new sensations hit his body. His hands gently touched her body, one moulding her gorgeous a breast as he pumped into her, while the other gently played with her sensitised nub, desperate for that sweet release yet dying to prolong it. He felt her body tensing up.

It was way too soon.

He wasn't ready. He wanted this moment to last forever.

But his body didn't listen either. The second her muscles had closed around him he'd felt himself tip over the edge until he was breathlessly spiralling out of control.

Then incredibly, her muscles gripped him, drawing his climax out until he felt his very life had been milked from him. He'd never felt an orgasm like that in his life.

She'd been worth it.

Finally pulling his limp penis out of her, he dropped down on the bed next to her. He pulled the condom off and dropped it carefully on the floor, too shook up to deal with it then.

Wow.

There could be no other word for it.

Just... wow.

How could he feel these things with someone he didn't even like? He was halfway certain he was in love with Maria but he'd never felt anything like this with her, nothing even remotely close.

He turned his head slightly to look at her face, mere inches from his own. Her hazel eyes locked with his. She looked... amazed? Yeah, that was the word. Maybe she'd never felt anything like that either, with all her experience.

Thinking like that made him angry again.

He suddenly remembered why they were in this position. She was a stripper. A whore. And she'd got herself knocked up.

And just like that, this beautiful moment they'd just shared was tainted.

"Do I pay you now or should I wait a little bit?" he snapped.

She didn't answer him, but her eyes closed and she turned her head.

"And I'm happy to report that you were definitely not a virgin," he said, turning his head away too. "Don't ever lie to me again, Keri."

Again, she remained quiet.

"What? No comment? Was this all a game to you, Keri?" he growled angrily as he lifted himself onto his elbow.

"No games," she whispered.

She was still lying on her stomach with her butt exposed, calling to him. She was too tempting. So tempting, he couldn't help reaching for her again.

He let his hand trail her curvy butt cheek, gently massaging the palm-shaped bruise he'd left there when he'd smacked it. He regretted marking her like that in anger, because he'd only done it to punish her.

"I'm sorry about that," he whispered.

He was man enough to admit that. He'd never raised his hand to her before, it was wrong for him to do it now, even if she deserved a lot worse.

For all he knew, she enjoyed things like that. He'd been with women who'd loved it when he'd done that to them, and he'd gladly obliged. But seeing marks on Keri's beautiful skin... it just seemed wrong.

He groaned as he felt himself hardening again.

This wasn't supposed to happen. He'd thought he'd only need to do this once. But his body was responding as if he hadn't even touched her yet.

Against his will, he lifted himself so he was leaning over the bruise and lowered his head, giving a whole new meaning to the phrase 'kissing ass'. He kissed it and then some, before allowing his lips to move up her body, tasting her. He let his hands go everywhere, his dick rubbing torturously against her as he sucked and licked and bit anywhere he could. He bathed in her. There was no other way he could describe it.

He wanted all of her all over him, all of him all over her.

He needed it.

After doing her just once, his body already knew it wouldn't be enough.

His body over hers, he brought it down so he could feel her flesh on his as he trailed kisses across her shoulder to her neck.

"Jeff..." she gasped breathlessly.

"I know," he whispered.

* * *

Keri's bones were melting. She felt his strong hands turn her over until Jeff was nestled between her legs.

The first time he'd done this, she had been blown away. She had forgotten everything except the fact that his touch was doing things to her body that she had never dreamed possible. She had felt every hot inch of him inside her as he had driven her into a mindless frenzy. And the end... She'd never known anything so beautiful existed.

And now that he'd turned her over, she could see the burning desire in his eyes. She'd never been the recipient of such raw need. She could see the way his hands trembled as he brought them down to touch her body. She could feel the fire in him, which mirrored her own. Instinctively, she arched her back, bringing her body closer to his, like a moth attracted to a flame.

"Keri... What are you doing to me?" Jeff groaned, still poised above her.

She was desperate for him to do what he'd done before, to make love to her so she could forget reality again, even if it was only for a few moments.

"Make love to me, Jeff," she begged.

She'd never, in a million years, thought she'd beg Jeff for anything, let alone for the one thing she had avoided doing with anyone else her whole life.

Holding her gaze, Jeff obliged her.

He slowly entered her, his eyelids heavy as he bit back a throaty moan.

She had no such control. She couldn't help the loud moan that came from her as he filled her again. He filled her all the way, stretching her muscles again until they were fully joined. But he stopped moving.

Thinking he had changed his mind, she locked her feet around his lower back so he wouldn't dare pull out and leave her like this. But Jeff smirked at her as this movement brought him even closer to her and she realised this had been his plan as his hand snaked around her butt and lifted her slightly. He went in even deeper.

Then he started moving, slowly again, his eyes still holding hers.

She's never felt so good in her life.

And she'd never known she could make so much noise. She was sure she'd be hoarse by the end of the day.

"Faster. Please."

But Jeff kept his slow pace and she was sure she was losing her mind. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Let me go on top," she said, deciding to take matters into her own hands.

Jeff obliged, turning them over while they were still joined so she was sitting on him.

"Ride me," he ordered.

Because this was all new territory for her, she had no clue what she had to do. But she knew she had to move before she died of frustration.

So she did. Up and down. Round and round. Side to side. Anyway she could to keep feeling that big dick inside of her. And faster she moved, the better it felt. It felt even better with both his hands on her body; moulding her breasts, tweaking her nipples, ghosting over her stomach, reaching round her to grip her butt. And it felt absolutely amazing when his fingers brushed against her where they were joined.

"Beautiful..." he murmured.

She couldn't help screaming. She couldn't help touching his body all over the way he'd done hers. She couldn't help bobbing up and down on him as she lost herself to the feelings in her body. She couldn't help throwing her head back, her mouth parted, as the wondrous sensations filled her.

And his moans and groans fuelled her up in a way she couldn't have imagined. She would never have guessed it would make her feel so good to give Jeff such pleasure.

Then his hands gripped her hips and he used his strength to make her go harder and faster, his hips lifting off the bed to meet her for a more intense impact.

It didn't take long after that for her to feel that incredible feeling well up in her again until it pushed her to the top. Then she was freefalling... weightless as it pushed her over the edge, the feeling so much better than the first time as she felt him throb and twitch inside her before his hot release filled her.

She collapsed on top off him, thinking she never wanted to move again as she struggled to catch her breath.

She remained there, joined to him, as she drifted off to an exhausted, dreamless sleep.

* * *

He watched her beautiful face, innocent in sleep, as she lay on his chest. His hand gently brushed the hair from her face before joining the other one on her firm butt.

He was incredibly tired, since he'd been up all night following her, but his body refused to miss a single second of this.

It had been beautiful.

It had been mind-blowing.

He was probably never going to have anything this good ever again.

It was just too bad he could never do it again.

He'd told himself he'd only do it once, but one time had turned to two, and by the heat he felt in his lower body and the twitch he felt with increasing frequency where he was still nestled inside her, he knew it was about to be three.

But that would be it. No more sex with this incredibly sexy whore.

With both hands, he pushed her down on him. He was already hard inside her.

"Mmmm... Jeff," Keri murmured sleepily, a smile forming on her lips.

He'd become quite partial to her throaty moans.

He repeated his little action, feeling her body reacting to him even in her sleep.

One more time. That was all he needed. One more time to slake his lust and he'd be done with her and all her drama.

But she opened her eyes and met his and he felt like a freaking god. He felt like he was the only one for her, even if he knew that was utter bullshit.

She felt so good on him that 'one more time' wasn't enough.

So he made love to her all morning.

Any which-way.

Every which-way.

Desperately.

Urgently.

He made love to her until he finally fell next to her, too exhausted and sore to move. He'd worked muscles that even the most intensive workout in the gym hadn't worked. And he'd come to the conclusion that slaking his lust was a damn hard job.

Especially since it now seemed the more he dicked her, the more he wanted her.

And he'd already wanted her pretty damn bad to start off with.

He was destined to feel this way for this whore for the rest of his existence.

Even though he loved Maria.

With thoughts of his girlfriend, he guiltily pushed Keri's limbs away from his body and rolled off the bed. He needed to get out of there. He was exhausted... burnt out... and yet his body was still craving to be buried inside the witch.

He needed to find his own bed so he could get some sleep. Maybe when he woke up, he'd find that the intensified burning need to be with Keri was just a figment of his imagination.

He watched her through heavy lids as he slowly pulled his jeans back on. She had the biggest smile on her face... and cum all over her body. He had to admit it looked good on her. Even her sweat looked good on her. He felt it all over his lower body as well but he was too tired to bother cleaning it up.

He found his t-shirt somewhere across the room and pulled it on, his eyes wandering back to Keri's body. She looked lifeless in her exhausted slumber but he didn't feel guilty about working her so hard.

It had quite simply been the best sex he'd ever had.

He wanted to do it again and again. And again. He would have too, if his body would have let him.

And he felt disgusted with himself for feeling like that.

He put his shoes on and checked his pockets for his keycard and phones. He found Keri's keycard, too. But instead of putting it down next to her replacement card on the table, he slipped it back in his pocket.

Just in case.

With one last look at her, he slipped out of her room. Smelling of sweat and sex, he made his way to his own room. He had a show to do that night, but he doubted any sleep he got now would do him any good. He was simply too tired.

Before he laid his head down, he checked his phone. He had a million missed calls from Maria, and quite a few messages. He didn't read or listen to any of them as he remembered belatedly that he was supposed to have spent the night with her.

Guilt ate him up. He hadn't touched his girlfriend a single time, the way he normally did, since she had joined them on the road.

But he was too tired to dwell on that guilt.

But not too tired to dwell on what he'd spent all morning doing.

So with images of Keri's body underneath his, he closed his eyes and was asleep instantly.

* * *

Maria closed the door behind her. She was supposed to be getting lunch with the girls before heading off to the arena for the show. Her steps slowed as she passed the door of the room right next to hers and she bit her lip. She forced herself to keep moving.

"Hey, Ria, wait up."

She forced a smile on her face as she turned to see John Morrison walking to catch up with her. He looked at the door she'd just passed and grinned.

"I could hear her all the way down to my room," he chuckled. "Orton's one lucky son of a bitch."

She forced herself to chuckle.

"Yes. Orton's very lucky."

She believed this too, but she was sure the reason she thought so was different to John's.

She spared one last look back at the door before walking ahead with John.

* * *

**Oooooh. She was right next door? Mwahahahaha!**

**Thank you for your lovely reviews and PM'S. Very busy today but thought I'd give you this Valentine's present. Enjoy, and please review. **


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: I'm so sorry for being lazy! It's been a while, I know. But I just thought, what with the 'strike' going on, I'd try to post a few times this week just so you all know I'm not supporting that idea. I write coz I love it, nothing more. I love reviews and PMs, and I love those who put me on their alerts and favs, even if they don't review. Here's the next chapter, enjoy.**

Jeff hadn't seen Maria or talked to her since his guilty morning. He'd avoided her backstage at the show and he'd managed to convince his brother that they had to fly back home that night just so he wouldn't see her until he'd found a way to live with his guilt. He was a bit surprised she hadn't called him yet to ask if everything was alright. She tended to worry about him a lot.

But he was glad she hadn't tried to get in touch. There was no way he was going to come clean about cheating on her, no matter how hard his conscious nagged him. He loved her. He really did. He didn't want to lose her.

But that still hadn't stopped him from slipping into Keri's room, one last time.

He'd offered to wake her up after the show so she could get her things together while Matt arranged their flights. He'd let himself into her room with the key he hadn't given back. She'd still been asleep, but the smile had gone from her lips.

He hadn't meant to touch her again but he'd found himself slowly peeling the thin sheet off her body. He'd woke her up the best way he knew how. How could he resist?

It had been quick, but still intense, as if he'd been away from her for years rather than hours. Then he'd showered with her, rubbing evidence of his presence off her body. Well, the evidence he could get rid of, anyway. There had been no way to make all those love-bites and scratches on her body disappear.

He'd taken her against the shower wall, quickly again, and left her there without a word so she could get clean and pack up.

He hadn't understood how he could still want her so bad.

Even now, sitting at Matt's dinner table opposite her as they waited for Matt to dish up some food, his body was worked up. She hadn't looked him in the eye since they'd got up that afternoon.

"I think we should call the police," Matt said as he laid a plate of food in front of her. "We can't let these people think they can get away with stuff like this."

"Leave it, Matt. I'll fix it," Keri said.

He grunted and shook his head. Some things never changed.

They'd come home to find Matt's place broken into. But nothing had been taken. Instead, a very bright message had been spray painted on Matt's wall right above his plasma TV, a message for Keri.

She owed someone money again. And they wanted it back real bad.

"How much is it?" Matt asked. "Just use the money I gave you and get them off your back."

He grunted gain. He highly doubted Keri had any money to her name, not if she had been reduced to taking her clothes off to put food in her mouth.

"I said I'll fix it, Matt," Keri snapped.

Matt looked at him pointedly, and he knew his brother was wondering why he wasn't saying anything when he would have been the first to fix things for her, normally.

He just shrugged and ate his food.

Keri was in a bigger mess than owing money. The further he distanced himself from her problems the better.

Matt sighed and started on his food, too. If he'd noticed anything amiss between him and Keri, hadn't said anything.

"Do you want some wine with your food?"

"Sure. Why not?" Keri answered.

He looked at her across the table and frowned. She was pregnant. A drink was out of the question. The baby was the innocent one in the whole mess, whoever his or her dad was.

"Put it down," he growled.

"Don't tell me what to fucking do," Keri snapped, meeting his eyes for the first time since they'd got up that afternoon.

He frowned again, this time at the look in her eye. Her eyes seemed... dead. And she seemed really pale, too. Looking closely at her actions, he realised how automatic they were, like her mind was elsewhere. And she was only pushing her food around her plate, pretending to eat.

Well, the girl had just found out her promiscuous life had caught up with her. He'd be like that as well if he were in her shoes.

He watched her gulp down her drink before excusing herself from the table to head out back.

"Okay, what the hell is going on, Jeff?"

"How the fuck should I know?" he muttered.

He was very close to revealing the truth to his brother, about the stripping and the pregnancy, but he was still so bitter about that he wanted her to suffer for a while. He knew his brother wouldn't turn his back on her and he'd take care of her and her bastard child, so she would be fine in the end.

But she had to suffer, even if it was just for a little while.

"Weren't you with her last night?"

He was glad he had nothing in his mouth because he would have choked on it. How the hell had his brother known that?

"I thought you went after her when she went out with Orton," Matt frowned. "Please tell me you did. Please tell me she's not looking so depressed because that dick used her."

He swallowed. Maybe a little bit of the truth was necessary. The last thing he wanted was for his brother to go playing Keri's knight and discover Orton had left her in his very capable hands.

"I did. Orton didn't touch her," he said.

"Then is she pinning for him?"

He shrugged, concentrating on his food again.

"Jeff, please. Just go get it out of her. You know you can do that in seconds, whereas it would take me days to coax the truth out of her."

"Matt, I don't care what's wrong with her."

"But I do."

"It's probably the message sprayed on your wall. Have you thought about that?"

"She was like that before we even got home. But you need to find out who did that, as well. You need to fix it before we leave for the road, otherwise I'm telling her she's coming with us again. She won't be safe here on her own."

He dropped his fork. Keri back on the road with them? With him and his girlfriend? After what he'd done with her? After he'd discovered he really couldn't stop doing it? That was a disaster waiting to happen.

"I'll talk to her," he grumbled.

"I knew you'd see it my way," Matt smiled as he resumed eating.

He couldn't help feeling he'd somehow been played.

Abandoning all hopes of actually finishing his meal, he stood up and followed her outside. He reached for his smokes in his pocket as he stood by the back door, his eyes scanning the yard looking for her.

When he didn't find her, he rolled his eyes and started past the pool towards the woods. She always went by the creek when she had a lot on her mind.

He followed the little footpath through the woods, his one hand in his pocket as he held his smoke in the other. And sure enough, once he came to the clearing were the creek ran through, he saw her sitting on the grassy bank, her knees hugged up to her chest and a cigarette in her hand. She shouldn't have been smoking. What the hell was wrong with this girl?!

He would have made his presence known if he hadn't seen her shoulders start to shake and tears start falling down her cheeks.

"You've got to be fuckin' kidding me," he muttered under his breath.

He wanted to turn back but it was too late. He'd already seen the tears. And they had already glued him in place.

He swallowed, his cigarette forgotten as it fell to the damp ground. Keri looked so forlorn he couldn't help but feel sorry for her, even if everything that was happening to her was her own fault. He hated the feeling. He hated that he just wanted to walk over to her and kiss those tears away. He hated that he wanted that beautiful smile on her lips all the time.

Tearing his eyes away, he quietly turned back down the path. There was no way he was showing himself now, not with those tears on her face.

He let himself back into the house, grabbing a can of beer before heading to the den. He found Matt in there with Shane, surveying the colourful damage on the wall.

"Oh, hey Jeff," Shane said.

"Hey."

"Just came over with the footage from Matt's New Year's Eve Bash to see if you guys want to watch it with me and maybe use any of it for the Hardy Show," Shane said, "but I see you have something much more interesting to do."

"Did you find out who did this?" Matt asked.

"I'll fix it, Matt. Don't worry," he said as he sat down.

Even if he had to pay the man off himself. He'd paid off enough people in the past to get Keri out of trouble. He could do it again, this time to make sure she didn't come back on the road with them.

"And?"

"What?"

"Why is she so depressed?" Matt asked.

He almost told him the truth again, just so he wouldn't have to deal with Keri and her tears.

"She's fine," he lied.

He had no idea why he was doing this. It would have been so much easier to let Matt handle her.

"Are you sure she didn't get with Orton?" Shane asked, coming to sit next to him. "Matt said you were with her last night, but maybe Randy snuck into her room when you all got back."

"He didn't."

"Good. I've called her Cherry so long, I think I'll be bummed to have to call her plain ol' Keri again," Shane mused. "I hope she'll set her sights on someone else now."

"If she's chosen Orton for her first... I swear, I'll kill that man before he even gets a chance to take her panties off," Matt growled.

That got Jeff's attention.

"What do you mean? Her first?" he asked.

They looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. He suddenly got the worst sinking feeling in his stomach that he knew no amount of alcohol would soothe.

"Where've you been all these years?" Shane snorted. "Why do you think I call her Cherry?"

He shrugged in answer.

"Because she likes cherries?" he tried, even though the sick feeling in his stomach told him the truth.

"See, if you didn't leave the room everytime she walked in, or when we talk about her, you'd know these things," Shane laughed.

"You honestly don't know?" Matt asked.

He shook his head.

"She really hates that her mother's a prostitute___"

"She hates her mother, fullstop," Shane cut in. "We all do. The woman enjoys chipping at her confidence; everytime Keri visits her house she always comes back a wreck and we have to build up her self esteem again."

"Tell me you knew that much, at least," Matt asked.

He shook his head again.

"Of course he wouldn't. That's why he always feels justified to say all those nasty things to her," Shane grunted.

"Will you just tell me why you call her Cherry?" he snapped, his heart pounding louder and faster by the second.

"She doesn't want to be like her mother so she's been looking for the right man before going all the way," Matt answered.

"And she's so picky, I doubt she's ever let a guy go past a few kisses," Shane chuckled. "So I call her Cherry because hers hasn't been popped yet."

He looked at his friend and then his brother. They were telling him the truth.

His heart stopped beating completely.

What the fuck had he done?

"Um... excuse me. I need a cigarette."

He walked back out of the house and sat down heavily on the porch steps.

His brother and Shane really thought Keri was a virgin. Keri had thought she was a virgin. Shit...

He realised a lot of the hatred he felt for her was based on his assumptions about her sex life. If she'd had so many boyfriends but had never slept with them... His hatred was based on... nothing. It was a lot to take in.

He saw her slowly make her way across the yard from the woods and his heart constricted again as he realised a few truths.

He'd forced himself on an innocent woman.

He'd forced himself on an innocent woman who'd probably been in shock, and therefore unable to stop him.

A lot of things were going through his head, but the most disturbing of all, the most urgent, was this: how the hell had she got pregnant if she was a virgin? Had someone raped her? There were all sorts of drugs one could slip in someone's drink to knock them out. In her line of work, she probably had many men fantasising about doing just that. If they'd all seen her near enough naked like he had, there was no way the same dirty thoughts that ran through his mind wouldn't run through theirs.

Someone had hurt her. Someone had knocked her up. _And she had no idea who_.

Dear God, she was probably devastated!

"I need to borrow your car," she said as she finally came to stand in front of him.

She looked like she'd washed the tears off her face in the creek but he could still tell she'd been crying. He felt a million times worse for what he'd done to her.

"You're in no state to drive," he said.

"I'm not going far."

"I'll take you," he offered.

"I don't want you anywhere near me," she hissed. "I'll take Matt's car."

"Wait," he said, getting to his feet quickly.

He was still trying to get his head around what he'd learned, but he needed to say something. He needed a few answers.

"You really were supposed to have been a virgin yesterday?"

"I told you that already."

He looked into her eyes and knew she was telling the truth. He felt like he'd been kicked in the gut again.

"Then how...?"

She looked away from him and bit her lip. He could tell she was trying not to cry.

"The doctor made a mistake. I can't be," she said. "Now, are you lending me your car or not?"

He looked at her for a moment and noticed again the glow. He'd thought at first that it meant she was seriously ill, but now he knew the truth. She was glowing because she was pregnant.

The doctor hadn't made a mistake.

"Where are you going?"

"I have an appointment with Dr. Jenkins. I'm going to prove I'm not pregnant."

"I'll take you."

He needed some answers too.

"I don't want you to come," she insisted.

"You can't do this by yourself, Keri. You're falling apart as it is."

"You can't come," she repeated. "I need to think and I can't do that if you're..."

And just like that, he was reminded of what they'd shared. One touch and all rational thoughts had flown out of the window.

But she didn't need to worry. He was feeling something in his stomach that he realised was terrible guilt. He wouldn't touch her again.

"I'm sorry I forced you."

"It was hardly force," she grunted, looking away from him.

He saw a slight blush spread across her cheeks and knew she was remembering it too. An experienced woman wouldn't have blushed like that. He remembered a lot of the things she had done, as if she had been unsure or simply amazed at what he'd been doing to her, and realised he should have seen the signs earlier. She had been completely innocent. Well, almost completely.

"You said no. You didn't want it, not in the beginning. So yes, I forced you. That makes me worse than scum," he admitted.

"Let's not talk about that," Keri mumbled, still not meeting his eyes.

"I should have believed you. If I hadn't been so angry, I probably would have seen you were telling the truth," he insisted. "So I'm sorry I touched you like that when you didn't want it. I won't... I won't do it again."

He couldn't see his eyes when he told her this. Truth be told, it was probably the hardest thing he'd ever had to do – promising not to sleep with her again when it was the only thing he wanted to do.

"I said don't talk about it," she snapped. "You made your point yesterday. I'm a fucking whore. So are we going or not?"

The guilt moved from his stomach to the rest of his body. While he had called her this and worse over the years, he'd just learnt it was far from the truth. She might dance naked for a living, but the girl was no whore.

She'd been looking for someone to love her first and some bastard had taken her virginity anyway. She would never get it back.

And it occurred to him, had this not happened, he would have been the one to take her virginity. He would have taken it in anger and probably scarred her for life.

_He was no different from the dick who'd taken her virginity._

However much he hated the other things she did, the trouble she got herself into, he would never have wished something like this on her.

"I've got my car keys. Do you need anything in the house?" he asked hoarsely, swallowing a lump in his throat.

It would be easier to just drive her to the doctor's without Matt and Shane seeing her like this and asking any questions.

Keri shook her head and he led her round the house to where his car was parked. He prayed the doctor would provide some useful answers.

After what he'd done to her the previous day and on the flight home, and all the anger he'd felt towards her over the years for something that wasn't true, he had a lot to make up for. He would help her get to the bottom of this.

* * *

She had been in danger of losing it completely the moment the doctor had called to inform her of her results. All sorts of things had run through her head – how could she be fucking pregnant? Had she been drugged and raped? By who? She hung around a lot of questionable characters, any of which could have done it. And not to mention, since getting her new job, she'd had many indecent proposals from complete strangers. It was common to get flowers and 'fan mail' in the dressing rooms when she went to work every night. Some of the clients had even bought her drinks after a private dance; Jimmy – her boss- encouraged the girls to get closer to the customers because it meant more money for him.

So many thoughts had been overwhelming her.

But the moment Jeff had touched her, she had thought only of him, of what he had made her feel. Then afterwards, she had been too tired to think, she had just slept until Jeff had come back and touched her again. She hadn't been able to think then either.

And she hadn't thought on the long flight home. She'd sat between Jeff and Matt, and by the time the late night plane had taken off and the lights had been dimmed, Matt had been asleep and Jeff's fingers had insured she had nothing else on her mind except what he'd been doing. She'd had to bite her lip so she wouldn't make any noise to alert anyone else that she was cumming over and over again under her blanket.

Then of course, Jeff had asked her to meet him in one of the toilets, and she'd become a member of the mile high club. Twice. She hadn't thought then, either. She'd been mindlessly controlled by the urges of her body; urges she'd never known could be that powerful. Her whole body had come alive, and for those moments nothing else had mattered.

But then they'd got off the plane, and with Matt up, Jeff had stayed away from her. She'd started thinking then. And her thoughts had made sure she had been a wreck by the time she'd given up trying to sleep and joined the others downstairs. Even the message sprayed across Matt's wall had failed to raise any alarm in her.

What could be more important than finding out she was pregnant with no idea how? For years, she'd tried her hardest not to end up like her mother, with unwanted fatherless children from men she hardly knew, only now to find the choice had been stolen from her. Not only could she have an unwanted life growing inside her, she had no way of knowing who the father was.

How could she not remember something like this? When Jeff had done it, he'd assured it would be burned in her memory possibly for the rest of her life. How could she not remember someone else being as close to her as Jeff had?

She'd finally broken down as she'd stared at the creek and realised what a big mess she was in. But she'd convinced herself that there was a mistake, and the doctor would prove it when she went for her appointment. She wasn't sure what he would say or do, or if he could give her any answers. She really hoped he could. Because she just couldn't bear to think anymore.

Especially since Jeff had said he wouldn't touch her anymore.

As much as she hated the man, the moment he touched her she forgot everything else. And she so desperately needed to forget right now. She would give anything... anything, just for him to make love to her all day again so she could have another day's respite from thinking.

"Keri... What if he proves that you _are_ pregnant? What are you going to do?"

She looked at the man sitting in the chair next to the examination table she was lying on and scowled.

"I can't be pregnant, Jeff," she snapped. "As far as I'm concerned... you were my first."

She looked away and examined everything in the room, just to keep herself from thinking about that question. She had no idea what she would do. She hadn't been able to think that far ahead yet.

"I'll find him. I'll find him then I'll kill him."

She looked back at him and desperately wanted to believe that he could figure this out. Jeff had always solved her problems, whether she'd wanted him to or not.

"I don't know if it'll be that easy."

Jeff looked away from her eyes but she'd already seen the anger in them.

"I don't like that someone else touched you," he admitted.

"According to you, I've been hopping from bed to bed since I came out of diapers."

"And I've wanted to kill each and every one of those bastards that I thought had touched you, too," he said quietly.

She had a feeling this wasn't something he wanted to admit. She wondered briefly when exactly he'd started fighting his sexual feelings towards her, and if they had fuelled his need to always be the first on the scene to beat down her boyfriends when her relationships went wrong. But she pushed those thoughts away. There was no way Jeff had wanted to sleep with her for so long. Those feelings had to be new, they were too strong. They were certainly new for _her_.

"When's this stupid doctor coming in? We've been waiting for ages," she muttered, changing the subject.

As if on cue, the door opened and Dr. Jenkins walked in, smiling apologetically at her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Keri."

Dr. Jenkins was the Hardy's family doctor, so when Matt had taken her under his wing, he'd become her doctor too.

"As I explained when you came in, the best way to prove anything is if we do an ultrasound," he said as he walked around the examination table where she was lying to the machine on the other side of her. "But I want you to be prepared ___"

"The tests were wrong," she insisted.

"Urine tests sometimes test positive for other reasons besides pregnancy, but we had blood tests, too," Dr. Jenkins said gently. "Let's just do the ultrasound, then we'll work from there."

She hated the way he spoke, as if he was positive he would find a baby inside her. There was nothing there!

But as he spread the cold gel on her stomach, she couldn't help feeling that her worst fear was about to be confirmed. The monitor beside her was placed at an angle where she would be able to see clearly for herself, but she turned her head to look at Jeff instead. His eyes were glued on the screen. She saw his mouth part in horror a second before he met her eyes.

She knew then what she needed to know.

His hand found hers and gently squeezed it just before she heard the unmistakable sound of a rapidly beating heart.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Two updates in one week... wow. But I'm sorry I'm neglecting Amazing Grace, I'll get to it, I promise. I just want to get over this part of the story before I concentrate on what's happening with the other.**

Jeff drove her home in silence. From the moment she had heard the heartbeat, her mind had numbed completely. She'd heard nothing else that the doctor said and for once was thankful that Jeff was there to deal with him.

"Wanna go for a walk?"

It was only then that she noticed that they were home, and he'd parked the car. But she couldn't speak. She met Jeff's searching eyes and realised he was genuinely concerned. She would have laughed if she'd been thinking properly.

Jeff, worried about her? Wow.

"Maybe you need to lie down," he said. "We can talk later. I'll tell Matt and the others that you're not feeling well so they don't bother you."

She still didn't say anything.

She heard Jeff swear to himself as he came out of his car before opening the door for her.

"Come on," he said gently.

Why was he being so nice? She wanted the old Jeff back, the one she could be mad at, the one she could shout at until the pain in her heart stopped. She didn't want him to be nice. It made her want to cry...

"Keri... please, don't cry," Jeff whispered. "We'll work this out."

She lifted a hand to her face and was shocked when she felt tears on it. Then she stared at her hand and the offending tears as if she didn't know what the hell they were.

She felt Jeff's hands on her cheeks, gently wiping the tears away and she looked up into the emerald eyes.

"Come on," he repeated, taking her hand in his as he helped her out of his car. "I'll take you to your room."

She had no idea how he got her up the stairs without anyone seeing them – or even if anyone _had_ seen them - but she was in her room a few minutes later. Jeff led her to her bed and lay her down. She felt useless, like she'd forgotten how to do even the simplest things.

"Get some sleep, Keri. You're in shock. I'd give you a shot of whiskey or something but..."

She could only look at him. Sleep? How was she supposed to do that? She had a feeling she wouldn't be able to sleep for a long, long time.

He turned to leave, but something lurched violently inside her at the thought of being alone.

"Stay," she begged weakly.

Jeff turned back and looked at her hesitantly. If she'd been thinking, she would never have asked. But their relationship had changed now. There was no denying that.

"Okay," he agreed.

She watched him take his shoes off before lying down on the bed next to her, his head next to hers and his eyes on her face.

Had his eyes always been such a beautiful green? She'd never looked so closely at him, she realised his eyes were gorgeous. Green, with specks of gold... like some sort of wild cat. She saw fingers gently tracing his cheek and with shock realised they were hers. But she didn't take them off. She felt completely detached from everything, like she was watching the scene from outside her body.

"Your skin is so soft."

She didn't even recognise her own voice but she knew it was hers because she'd felt her lips moving.

Jeff smiled at her and placed his large hand over hers on his cheek. She'd never noticed just how large his hands were before; her hand was completely swallowed in his.

"Not as soft as yours," Jeff said softly.

She entwined her fingers with his and looked at them in fascination. He had strong hands. Even the painted nails didn't detract anything from them. Then somehow, her fingers were tracing his ink, slowly going up the vines on his arm. She'd always thought his tattoos were awesome, but she'd never admitted that to anyone.

Still tracing his tattoos, she felt her lids get heavy, but she fought the sleep. If she slept, she would probably dream, and she knew what the dreams would be about. She was better off like this, just watching this man, with nothing to think about but his features.

"Sleep," Jeff urged gently. "I'll be here when you wake up"

He seemed to have read her thoughts, like he was always doing. She met his eyes to see if he was telling her the truth. She didn't want to be alone.

"I promise," Jeff said.

Maybe he wasn't reading her thoughts. Maybe she was speaking out loud. She wasn't so sure now. Noone could read thoughts that accurately. But she believed him and let her lids slowly close.

* * *

Jeff lay there for a while, watching her beautiful face as she slept. Even in sleep, there was a slight frown on her face and occasionally, she mumbled something. It didn't take a genius to see she was troubled.

Keri was in shock. Jeff had known this from the time he'd seen her eyes when they'd heard the baby's heartbeat. She hadn't turned to look at the screen and hadn't heard a word the doctor had said to her. She hadn't seen the tiny thing growing inside her, with its perfect limbs and perfect everything. She hadn't heard the doctor tell her she was almost thirteen weeks pregnant. She hadn't heard him suggest involving the police. And she hadn't heard the 'options' the doctor had told her she had if she didn't want to keep it. She definitely hadn't heard the doctor talk of test he had to do because of the circumstances; blood tests and swabs for DNA and sexually transmitted diseases, though he was sure, after thirteen weeks, there would be no trace on her body of the man who'd impregnated her. But Jeff knew there would be truckloads of his own sperm inside her, because he'd only used protection once. The rest of the time, it had been the furthest thing from his mind. And that was a stupid thing to do because he knew that meant he'd have to book himself in for blood tests as well.

He had to admit, as he'd driven her to her appointment, he had thought the easiest solution was for her to have an abortion even though he didn't believe in that. He'd always thought it was a cruel thing to do. But he'd seen the little thing now, and he'd been assailed by so many conflicting emotions. First, he'd shocked himself by wishing the baby was his – that thought had immediately been burned, it would never again see the light of day. Then he'd thought: would it be fair to bring the kid into the mess Keri had made of her life, for him or her to grow up fatherless? Then he'd burnt that thought, too. The baby was innocent. And it turned out the mother was innocent, too. Well, innocent in terms out sexual experience; she was still a petty criminal when it came down to it. Then he'd realised his strongest thought was to protect the tiny thing growing inside this woman.

Whether they found the man responsible or not, that baby was real and was entitled to a life. And if Keri wasn't up to it, he'd have to persuade her. He'd pledge his lifelong support, and he knew his brother, his dad and their friends would do the same. The kid would never want for anything.

As he watched her sleep now, he knew he'd never repeat the options Dr. Jenkins had talked about. Abortion was out of the question, and so was adoption. He wanted her to keep the baby.

And now that he'd decided that, that left one very important question: who was the daddy?

Thirteen weeks pregnant? She would have had to have got pregnant around Christmas. Dr. Jenkins has said the measurements he had done on the foetus were pretty accurate, give or take a couple of days. That gave them a specific timeline to work with. So what he needed to do was for her to retrace everything she did, all the people she came into contact with around that time. Was there a day she woke up with a particularly nasty hangover and didn't remember what she'd done the night before? But he knew that was asking the impossible – the girl loved to party but had never handled her drink well, waking up with no recollection of the previous night's events would be a regular occurance. He knew this because a quite a few times over the years, after one of Matt's parties or a good night out, she'd woke up with no recollection of the previous night. It was okay for her to drink like that when she was home, because she was among friends, but to drink like that with strangers... any one of them could have taken advantage.

It would be hard for her to remember everything, but at least they now had something to work with.

He stroked her cheek gently and sighed. So much had changed in the past few hours; it was too much to take in. From finally sleeping with her, over and over again, to discovering she should have been an innocent, to finding out there was a baby growing inside her. And that was all on top of coming home to find the threat to her life sprayed on Matt's wall.

He'd fix this one thing at a time. He'd find out who she owed and pay them off first thing in the morning. But tonight, as soon as she woke up, they had to get cracking on this 'who's the daddy thing'. The sooner he found and killed the bastard, the better.

There was a knock on the door, and whoever was on the other side walked in before he could get off the bed.

Matt stopped in his tracks, looking at him suspiciously before slowly walking further into the room.

"We've been looking for you two," Matt started, still frowning as he looked from Keri back to him.

"Um... she had a check-up," he said. "I drove her to the doctor's."

"And?"

"She's still a bit sick but getting there," he lied.

Now wasn't the time to tell the truth, not until he'd had a chance to really talk about this with Keri.

"And you're laying there next to her because...?"

"Because we were talking and she fell asleep."

"You were talking? You two? Since when do you talk?"

"Since you asked me to find out who she owes money," he snapped as he finally got off the bed and walked out of the room. "Don't talk so loud, you'll wake her up."

He walked to his room and wasn't surprised his brother followed him there.

"You two have been acting really weird the past few days. What's really going on?"

"Nothing," he sighed, pulling some clean clothes out of his wardrobe. "Look, I'm going to shower now, but could you ask the guys not to wake Keri up? The doctor says she needs to rest as much as possible."

Matt sighed, realising he wasn't getting anything else out of him, and walked out of his room. He dropped himself down on the edge of the bed. His own house would be ready in a few months; it would be nice not to have anyone question his movements so much.

* * *

"Are they coming?"

Matt was still frowning when he walked downstairs to the den where Shane and Shannon were waiting.

"Huh?" he asked, a bit distracted. "Oh, Keri's asleep and Jeff's jumping into the shower."

"Well, it'll be no fun watching this without them," Shane grinned. "The funniest parts are when they strip naked to play Jeff's guitars."

"Hey, you sound like you watched it already," Shannon accused.

"No, I didn't. But I was the cameraman, remember? I was the only sober one out of the whole sorry bunch of you," Shane laughed. "I especially liked filming you, Shannon, when you fell out of that hammock that Keri put up."

"I still don't get why you just stood there and watched when you knew that thing wasn't safe," Shannon grumbled. "My shoulder still hurts from that."

"It's not my fault you trust Keri when she's had a drink," Shane laughed again.

Matt sat down and picked his beer up, still thinking about his brother and Keri. Not that he thought he'd walked in on something, they'd both been fully dressed, but he found it weird that they had been that close to each other without fighting. It was something he'd always wanted, of course, for them to learn to co-exist, but he couldn't help feeling that there was something else there that was bringing them together.

"We'll watch this tomorrow, then," Shannon said. "Kimo and Yuk will be here, too. What do you think, Matt?"

"Huh?"

"Man, what's wrong with you?" Shane chuckled. "You didn't walk in on Jeff and Keri fucking, did you?"

He burst out laughing at that, as he thought that they would never live long enough to see the day Jeff and Keri stopped hating each other enough to actually sleep together.

* * *

When Keri woke up, a pair of green eyes was looking at her. He was there, just as he'd promised. She smiled lazily as she stretched, relishing this time between sleep and wakefulness where nothing ran through her head.

"Did you sleep well?" Jeff asked gently.

Then just like that, reality crashed down on her again. It all came back; finding out she was pregnant, sleeping with Jeff, the sound of the baby's heartbeat...

Then the panic set in.

How? How? How?

The question kept ringing through her head, so much so she sat up and pulled at her hair, needing something, anything to distract her from thinking.

"Calm down, Keri," Jeff said.

"Calm down? Calm down?!" she snapped with an incredulous laugh. "I'm fucking pregnant and I have no idea how it happened. How the fuck am I supposed to calm down?"

"I'll help you. We'll find out who did this," Jeff said, "but you need to calm down and think of the baby."

At this, her breath started coming in short, painful gasps. Baby? The fuck?! She had a fucking baby inside her! She had a life growing inside her! A life she didn't want...

"Breathe," Jeff said as he grasped her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Just breathe. We can fix this."

"Can we?" she asked.

"I've never let you down before. I'm not about to start now."

She looked into his eyes for a minute before letting out a long, calming breath. He was right. Panicking wouldn't solve anything. She had to think about this rationally.

"Okay, so what do we do?" she asked.

* * *

He looked into her eyes and it almost broke him that she was looking at him so trustingly. There wasn't much he could do; it was mostly going to be down to her. _She_ had to think back three months. _She_ had to remember who exactly she'd hung out with, or who'd bought her drinks. And _she_ had to have the baby.

"Well, while you were sleeping, I read some of the stuff in the folder Dr. Jenkins gave us. You're almost thirteen weeks pregnant so we know when you got pregnant, give or take a few days," he said. "According to the notes I read, you can only get pregnant certain days of your cycle. Do you remember when your last period was?"

He'd been pretty shocked by some of the things he'd read. Apparently, once a guy shot his load up there, the suckers were pretty tenacious and could take up to three days to travel to their target. So even if she was raped three days before she ovulated – they had so many big words in that leaflet! – she could still have got pregnant once the time was right.

"Um... it was before Christmas, maybe a week before I came home," she replied. "I'll have to look at my calendar for exact dates."

"The sooner you do that, the sooner we can get to the bottom of this," he said.

"I think my diary is somewhere downstairs."

"We can get on that later, then. We have quite a few other things to talk about right now," he said.

He didn't know how to approach the subject, or even if it was the right time. But he only had a couple of days to fix this before going back to work.

"Um... do you want to see the pictures?" he asked tentatively.

"What pictures?"

"The sonograms? Dr. Jenkins was kind enough to do quite a few for you. And he gave us a DVD as well."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Keri snapped, getting off the bed.

He watched her pace, muttering angrily to herself, but he knew the sooner she accepted she was pregnant the sooner she'd have to think of the future. The baby was real.

"He already has little hands and feet, little fingers__"

"Stop it," she cut in. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay," he said gently. "Another time then."

He watched her pace a little bit longer and decided to change the subject until she got used to the thought of being pregnant.

"Maybe you want to tell me who broke in and left you that message, then."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I can fix it," she said distractedly.

"How?"

"I'm going to pay him. I missed one payment, that's all," she answered.

"What, you make regular payments? How much did you borrow?" he questioned with a frown. Then something occurred to him when he remembered that Keri didn't think like normal people, she always went to the extreme. "Did you borrow from a loan shark?!"

"Stay out of it, Jeff. There's enough to deal with without dragging that shit out, too."

"You borrowed from a loan shark!" he exclaimed, reading between the lines. "Do you know how dangerous those people are? They'll kill you for a couple of bucks!"

"I can handle the repayments. I just got a bit behind because I was sick," Keri said.

"How are you going to pay him, then? Are you going back to 'work'?"

She looked away from him but he'd already seen the truth.

He was amazed that he could still feel angry with her after what he'd learnt, but the girl just seemed to make one mistake after another.

"I have to work, Jeff."

"Yeah?" he growled angrily. "How will you feel this time, taking your clothes of in front of the man _or men _who _raped_ you, who got you pregnant, the man or men _you don't fucking know_?"

"Jeff..."

"You're not going back to that job," he said firmly. "Not only because I won't let you allow strangers to touch you but also because you aren't safe there. If we don't know who did this, he could do it again. And again. And again."

He watched the expressions on her face and knew he was winning the battle.

"I guess you're right," she sighed "I'll have to find something else."

"Good," he said, feeling a little bit of self-satisfaction relax his body. "As long as 'something else' isn't grand theft auto or drugs. Or stealing anything at all, actually. Nothing criminal from now on."

She didn't argue with him but he had a feeling she was going to ignore him. Keri had never done anything above board in her life.

"So if you tell me where I can find this guy, I'll go there tomorrow and pay up."

"You don't need to do that, I can pay him myself."

"How? You just admitted you were struggling to pay him."

"I've got some savings... I just didn't want to ever have to use that money," she sighed. "I guess it makes sense to get rid of that problem so I can concentrate on the bigger one."

"You've got savings? Then why the hell did you borrow in the first place?"

"It's Matt's money... I don't like taking his money, he does enough for me as it is."

"You mean the money he deposits in your account every month? You saved some of that?"

"All of it."

That was impossible! Matt had been depositing into her account for years so she could take care of herself while they were on the road. When they had just been starting out, Matt hadn't been able to afford to give her that much every month but he'd still given her something, a few hundred dollars at a time. But he knew that over the years, that amount had risen to thousands every month.

"What do you mean all of it?" he asked, just to be sure.

"Matt has taken care of me since I was a kid, feeding me... school... He lets me crash here as long as I want, rent free. For years he's been trying to make me actually crash here permanently. He's done a lot. I couldn't take his money as well on top of all that," she sighed as she sat down again.

"But that's... he's been giving you money for years."

"Thirteen years," she said.

Son of a bitch!

He was no math genius, but that meant Keri had a hell of a lot of money.

It also meant that another of his beliefs about Keri had just been kicked out of the water. Keri was no sponge, not if she'd never used a cent of Matt's money.

"You must be one really dumb bitch!" he said with a frown. "Why the hell would you go to a loan shark when you have so much money in your bank account?"

"Jeff, stop," Keri sighed, standing up again. "Let's go downstairs. I can get something to eat and find that diary. I just want all of this over with, I want to get back to normal."

"But you know things will never be the same again, don't you; not with a baby on the way?"

She didn't look at him as she walked to the door but he could tell by the set of her shoulders what she was about to say.

"There'll be no baby," she said. "I can't have it, not when it'll remind me everyday of what happened."

**Thank you for your lovely reviews, I'll update again as soon as I can. They're quite close to finding out who the daddy is... And, shall I add, the answers are all there, you just have to know where to look...**

**Muahahahaha!**

**Much love.**


	15. Chapter 15

_She swallowed thickly as she stared down at the size of him. He looked so huge... surely he wouldn't fit?_

"_Ten inches, baby," Jeff grinned devilishly. "All for you."_

_Then he brought his lips down to hers again and she forgot her apprehension. His tongue invaded her mouth immediately and started duelling with hers in a dance older than time itself, making her weaker and weaker with each second that passed. His lips left hers to start trailing her neck, licking, sucking, and biting. He was making her feel so damn good. The taste of him, the very scent of him... so addictive. His erection was throbbing against her body and she was dying to finally feel the whole ten inches inside her. He was so hot... _

_Gently lifting her up, he put her down on the kitchen floor. He was already naked, she couldn't remember if she'd torn his clothes off or he had._

_That first urgent thrust was both intense and shocking. She screamed, this time in pain at the intrusion. Immediately stopping his frenzied movements, he looked down into her face, his beautiful eyes full of concern._

"_Why didn't you tell me?" he whispered._

"_Because you would have stopped," she answered, and then she proceeded to wrap her legs around him, pushing him deeper into her hot, tight sweetness._

"_God," he moaned. "I'm sorry."_

"_Don't be," she smiled. "Make love to me, Jeff."_

_If he refused, surely she'd die? She'd never felt so good in her life._

_He moved slowly at first so her virgin walls could get used to the size of him, but it only took a few thrusts for her to completely lose her head. She was feeling waves of sensation rolling up her body as he sank deeper and deeper into her. He felt so big, so good sliding into her, the friction was unbelievable. She could feel every vein, every twitch, every throb that his muscle made, and suddenly, it wasn't enough. She wanted more. She ground her hips, taking more of him in as she started to move frantically on him. He seemed to sense what she needed because he stopped being so slow and gentle. He thrust into her harder and faster, making her feel so good she couldn't help but scream out. She knew something was coming, she could feel it throughout her inexperienced body._

_Then Jeff let out a loud growl and thrust into her a few more times, and she felt his hot seed flowing into her. She looked up into his face and saw the pure ecstasy on it, the wonder. She didn't let him go until she felt him stop twitching._

_He dropped to his elbows, careful not to put his whole weight on her body while he dropped a kiss on her lips._

"_I'm sorry. I promise it will be so much better next time," he whispered. _

"_It will? But that was so good," she said, slightly in awe._

_He chuckled, kissing her again._

"_You ain't seen nothin' yet, kid," he laughed._

"_So show me."_

_He grinned down at her, already getting hard again inside her._

"_Have my babies."_

"_I'll have ten of 'em," she smiled._

"_Promise?"_

"_Mmm," she answered._

"_Let's get married."_

"_Why?"_

"_So I can hold you to that. You _will_ have my babies, Keri."_

"_Yes."_

"_Yes what?"_

"_Yes, I'll marry you."_

_oOo_

She woke up with a start and realised she was all sweaty and wet, and the covers were a mess all around her.

What the fuck was that?!

Because she'd had such incredible sex with Jeff, she was now dreaming he was the one who she'd lost her virginity to? And to dream of him asking her to marry him, to have his babies? She really _was_ sick!

There was a soft knock on her door and she struggled to get her breathing to slow as she pulled the covers back over her aroused body.

"Come in," she called.

She wasn't prepared to see the object of her dirty dream so soon.

As Jeff walked in, her breath caught and she felt the heat pool up in her lower body. She didn't think she'd ever been this horny over a dream in her life, she just hoped Jeff wouldn't notice it.

But that was too much to ask for. Jeff had only taken a few steps into her room before stopping dead in his track. His eyes took in her flushed face, the way she was clutching the bedding to her body and she knew he had probably seen the look in her eyes as well.

She heard him groan, and when his eyes met hers again, there was no mistaking the fire in them.

He took one step towards her, then another. Her lips parted, her heart beating faster again as she waited to see what he would do.

He knelt on the bed and raised his hand, gently loosening the grip she had on the sheet. Then the silky thing slid down her body and he let out another groan. She knew her nipples were straining against her strappy vest, but she hoped to God he couldn't see how wet her panties were.

His thumb brushed against one nipple and she let out a strangled breath. She didn't take her eyes off his face; he seemed hypnotised by what he was doing.

"I fought with myself all night not to come to you," he whispered.

Then his heavy eyes were on her lips as his tongue darted out to wet his own. She knew he was thinking of kissing her.

It was funny how, after all the things they'd done sexually, he hadn't kissed her a single time. She suddenly wanted to know what it felt like. She wanted him to kiss her to see if the world would spin, like she imagined it would. Then she wanted him to make love to her again... slowly, the whole length of him inside her...

Her lips parted as if in silent invitation as the anticipation for his touch filled her.

Then suddenly, he looked away and he got off the bed, leaving her a bit confused, and then pissed off with herself for wanting to sleep with him in the first place.

"I'll wait for you downstairs," he said thickly. "Breakfast is almost ready. Then I'll drive you to pay this guy."

With that he was gone.

Keri fell back onto her pillows and let out a frustrated sigh.

Why had Jeff slept with her in the first place? She could have _so_ done without all the new things she was feeling in her body. She didn't like that she had no control over it, that Jeff had reduced her to this.

But she had bigger thing to worry about. She couldn't tell Matt she was pregnant, not when she wasn't keeping it, so she needed Jeff to help her get to the bottom of this. She was just going to have to put these feelings aside. Jeff had, after all, promised her he wouldn't sleep with her again. That would make it easier to just push the whole sordid business under the rug, where it belonged.

* * *

Jeff paced the length of the porch as the early morning sun warmed him. He was drawing desperately on his cigarette as he tried to stop himself from thinking about Keri but it wasn't working.

She'd been horny, any idiot could have seen that. The flushed face, the heavy eye-lids... the molten fire in her eyes, the heavy breathing... the hard nipples and the wet panties... He shouldn't have given in to temptation and touched her, not when there was no way he was going to let himself take advantage of her again.

He groaned as he lit yet another smoke.

He wanted to go back up to her room and take her. He was desperate for her. All night he'd been plagued by dreams of her, making him all the more guiltier for feeling like that when she had so much going on.

When they'd gone downstairs the previous night and had something to eat with the guys, he'd tried to keep his eyes off her but he'd failed. She'd sat between Shane and Shannon, pretending her whole world hadn't just been turned upside down as she'd tried to laugh and joke with them but occasionally she'd met his gaze and he'd seen the despair. She'd looked so small, so vulnerable that his protectiveness had welled up again. Finding the man who'd hurt her and changed her whole life then became his top priority.

But they hadn't found her diary. She'd thought maybe she'd left it at her mother's instead, so they'd had to leave it for today. After driving to Raleigh to pay her debt off, he was taking her down to her mother's house.

"Jeff."

He twirled round to face his brother.

"It's Ria," Matt said as he handed him his phone.

Well, damn! With everything that was going on, he'd completely forgotten about his girlfriend. The girlfriend he'd cheated on.

"Um... hey baby," he said, hoping his guilt wasn't evident in his voice.

"Hey," Ria said.

"How you doin'?"

He winced at the sound of his voice. He couldn't have sounded any guiltier if he'd tried.

"Are you alright?" Ria asked.

He closed his eyes tightly as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Ria could always tell when something wasn't right with him.

"Not really," he whispered, deciding to go with the truth.

Ria was a good person. He really didn't deserve her.

"What's happened?" she whispered back.

The way she asked the question... like she already knew... He shook that thought off and thought instead about how to answer that question.

"I love you Maria," he said truthfully. "I love you so, so much. I don't know what I'd do without you, you keep me grounded... sane... You're the most loyal, sincere person I know while I fuck up every chance I get... I don't deserve you at all."

"Jeff? What's going on?"

"I have some things I have to say to you when I see you," he whispered.

There was no turning back now.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Ria asked.

"What?! No! No, the last thing I want is to lose you," he said quickly. "I can't lose you... I can't."

Once she knew the truth she would leave him, but he'd do everything in his power to prove that the Keri thing was temporary, that it was Maria he loved. And he'd promise never to hurt her again.

"Alright. I'll see you in a couple of days then," Ria said quietly

"I love you, babe," he said again.

"I know," Ria answered before she hung up.

She hadn't sounded like herself at all. And he couldn't help but notice that she hadn't said she loved him, too.

"I'm ready."

He turned around to see Keri in the doorway, dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and her hair in a simple pony tail. Her eyes were looking at him coldly, and it occurred to him that she'd probably overheard some of the conversation.

He felt like a prick.

"Alright. Come on," he said as he took a last pull on his smoke.

"Can I have some of that? I've run out," she said.

He frowned a little bit as he looked at her and her eyes challenged him to say something.

"You know you can't do that, not when you have a little someone depending on all the things you feed your body," he said.

"Stop it," she snapped angrily. "I already told you I'm not keeping it."

"Just take a few days to think about this. That's all I'm asking," he begged. "If you're worried how you'll take care of it, I'll help you, I swear___"

"No."

He sighed and turned to walk down the steps so he could walk around to the front where his car was parked.

"Are you giving me one or not?"

"That was my last one," he lied.

One thing at a time. He'd fix this one thing at a time.

* * *

They made the drive from Cameron to Raleigh without talking. He had to admit, even with everything going on, it was incredibly hard being so close to her and not being able to just stop the car and do her. But he forced himself to do it, not only because he knew how fragile she was at the moment but because he intended to keep his silent promise to his girlfriend. He couldn't sleep with Keri ever again.

"Want some music?" he asked.

She shrugged without looking away from her window and he put the music on anyway. He needed a distraction. It was no good remembering what had kept him awake all night, and he certainly couldn't think about earlier, when he'd walked into her room. She'd looked so good... so ready... And he'd been more than ready, he knew if he'd given in and ripped her soaked panties off and taken her, he would have satisfied himself in seconds.

He cleared his throat and turned the music up.

He had to stop thinking like this. If he carried out his thoughts, he'd be taking advantage of her again and he just couldn't have that. He already had too much to make up for.

Soon, they were driving into the town and he had to turn the music down for Keri to direct him where she wanted to go. She stopped at a bank first before they made the trip down the block to where the loan shark was waiting for her.

"So were you... um... working in Raleigh all this time?" he asked as he finally parked his car in front of a seedy looking bar.

"I got the loan here, I didn't strip here," she answered as she pulled her phone out and texted something. "I was in Chicago. Less chance of anyone from home recognising me there. Besides, I wouldn't work in this dump. If anyone's going to see me naked they have to at least afford to drink in a better place than this."

He couldn't help feeling a bit better about that. He knew this place, knew the sort of people who went there and he didn't like to think of any of them with their hands down Keri's thongs.

"Stay in the car, I won't be long," she said as she pulled an envelope out of her pocket, pulled a few notes out of it and put the money in his glove compartment.

"I'm not letting you go in there by yourself. You never know what the guy will do. You know they prefer people owing them for years so they end up paying what they loaned hundreds of times over. That's how they stay in business," he said before he got out of the car.

No, there was no way he was letting her go in there by herself.

And his fears were proved correct when a huge, tattooed man opened the door when she knocked and openly looked her up and down, despite the fact that he was standing right behind her.

"Hey Keri," the man sneered. "The boss is expecting you. He was getting rather pissed off about waiting."

Keri walked past the man and he followed, making sure he met the man's eyes to warn him off. He'd taken down bigger men over the years so he wasn't scared. Not for himself anyway.

Keri walked straight towards the back of the dimly lit bar and it worried him that she seemed to know exactly where to go. How many times had she been here by herself?

There weren't many people in the bar at this time of morning, he guessed the place wasn't even open yet. Everyone seemed to be hired muscle or hired pussy. He couldn't hide his disgust at the tiny half naked blonde giving head to the ugliest man he'd ever seen, warts, scars and all in full view of whoever wanted to watch them. The man wasn't that big but he looked like he'd lived through plenty of shit.

He scanned the room some more and realised every single one of the people in the room looked really dangerous. Like they would do anything for a buck. Like maybe kill someone.

He was so glad Keri wouldn't have to come here again.

"Aah, Keri. So good to see you again."

He came to a stop next to Keri to see a man sandwiched between two half naked women and surrounded by even more muscle sneer up at them.

He was dressed in an expensive looking suit with a brand of cigar that he knew was illegal in his hand. Jeff didn't know what he'd expected, certainly not this young, good looking blonde man.

"I don't appreciate you ruining my friend's wall," Keri started. "I thought we had an understanding."

"I'm so sorry about that, darlin'," the man said, even though everyone could tell the apology wasn't sincere. "But you know I couldn't let this slide. I can't show any favouritism, it's bad for business."

The man nodded his head once and the women left the table.

"Where are your manners, Keri? Aren't you going to introduce your friend?"

"No. I've come to pay up, nothing more."

"You must be Jeff Hardy, the brother of the man who's house my lovely friend Keri stays in whenever she's home," the man said with a smile. "I'm Brad Moore."

Jeff frowned as he looked at the man. He knew there was no other point to the introduction except to let him know he knew a lot about Keri and her friends while they knew nothing about him. It was meant to send a message.

"Here's everything I owe you," Keri said quickly as she placed the envelope on the table.

He could sense her uneasiness. Something else was going on here besides the exchange of money. He hoped to God this man wasn't the baby's father.

"Everything?" Brad asked with a lifted brow. "You disappoint me, Keri. I thought our relationship would go further than that."

"Well, something's come up so we have to part ways."

"You must have worked really, really hard to get all this," Brad said, deliberately slowly as he pulled a wad of noted from the envelope. "I take it this means our... personal relationship... has come to an end as well."

Jeff's blood boiled.

There was no mistaking what the man meant, not with his eyes slowly going over every inch of Keri's body.

Had she danced for _this_ guy? Had she let him touch her?

Could this be the man who'd raped her?

There was no question that this was something within the man's realm of possibilities; you only had to look around to know he worked very much underground.

"I'm afraid it does," Keri said quickly. "Come on, Jeff. Let's go."

"You'll be back, Keri. I assure you," Brad smile coldly. "Next time, though, leave your pet at home. We'll have so much more fun without him."

He would have turned around and thumped the man had it not been a death wish.

"What the hell was that?" he growled the moment the big man at the door had shut it behind them.

"Leave it."

"Did you sometimes pay him in kind?"

She sighed and turned to face him.

"Sometimes, when I couldn't afford the payments, I did private shows for him to buy myself more time," she replied.

He looked away from her, too angry to say anything. If that guy turned out to be the one who'd raped her...

"Get in the fucking car," he growled.

He drove to her mother's house in silence, barely containing his anger.

* * *

"Stay here. I'll be in and out."

"No."

Keri sighed as she put the money she'd grabbed from the glove compartment into her pocket. She hadn't really expected him to go into her mother's house with her, not when he was still so angry about the loan she'd just paid back.

"Okay, just keep your mouth shut then. I don't want any drama, not today," she said as she got out of the car.

Her mother's house – well, her uncle's really; her mother had never got round to finding a place of her own since they moved down here from Chicago – was really just a rundown shack. Everything needed fixing or throwing away, but there had never been enough money for that. Or there was but her mother and uncle preferred to spend it on pleasures of the flesh.

She knocked tentatively and took a breath in to prepare herself. No matter what she'd said to Jeff, there was no way she was leaving here today without a whole lot of drama from her family.

The door opened to reveal her sister, the nastier of the almost sixteen year-old twins. She was heavily made up and wearing the skimpiest of things. Obviously, their mother's influence was working on her. Keri feared it would only be a matter of time until the young girl fell into the lifestyle that their mother glamorised.

"What do _you_ want?" Keisha snapped.

"Well, hello to you, too," she muttered as she pushed the door open further to let herself in.

"You brought your trash with you?" Keisha sneered.

She looked back to see Jeff's eyes on the girl, looking coldly at her but saying nothing. Unlike the others, Jeff had only met her family a couple of times in all the time she'd known him.

"Mind your manners, Keisha," she snapped, taking Jeff's hand to lead him through the house.

She really didn't want to touch him, but in this warzone, it was best if they avoided scenes as much as possible.

To get to the stairs, they had to pass the open archway that led to the lounge. Her uncle was always sleeping off a hangover in there while her mother drank as much as she could before going out to 'work' at night.

"Girl, get your ugly ass in here."

She knew it had been too much to hope that they would ignore her.

With a sigh, she turned back and walked into the lounge. The mess in there didn't surprise her. Beer cans, dirty plates, cigarette ends and ash... Noone in this house had ever been big on cleaning.

What did surprise her was how her mother looked. She was always nicely made up, just in case she met some 'customers', but there she was, still in her old, worn nightdress and her hair a mess. Maybe 'business' wasn't as good as it used to be, then.

"What are you doing here?"

_Way to make me feel welcome, mom._

"I'm not staying long," she muttered.

"You better not. We're expecting company; I don't want to have to explain who you are."

Her mother had never really accepted her. It had probably been a great relief to her when Matt and his family had taken her in.

"Like I said, I won't be long," she repeated.

"What the hell have you been doing to yourself, anyway? You look like shit," her mother said. "You're already as ugly as sin, the least you could do is look after yourself."

"Yes, mothe.... Donna."

She'd forgotten she wasn't allowed to call her mother. At first she'd though it had been because that scared her customers away. But the twins had been born, and they'd called her Mother from the moment they could talk.

"Why ya'll makin' so much goddamn noise?"

She looked over at the couch where her uncle had just woken.

"Keri? The hell you doin' in my house?" he asked.

"I ain't staying," she repeated.

"You better not," he grumbled. "You bring me any money?"

She swallowed. She'd never been good enough for this family, but whatever money she could spared was always taken as if it was their due.

"Not this time, sorry," she muttered, biting her lip. "I'll get out of your way now."

With that, she turned, only to bump into Jeff's hard chest. She'd assumed he was waiting for her by the stairs, only to find him looking at her mother and uncle like he wanted to hurt them.

"You brought a strange man into my house?" her uncle snapped when he finally noticed Jeff.

"He's not a stranger. You remember Jeff? Matt's brother?"

"Them boys you shack up with?" Donna snapped. "Well, he ain't welcome here, just like the whole sorry bunch of them."

Nodding her head, she pushed against Jeff to make him move. But Jeff seemed to have other ideas.

"Please..." she whispered.

She really didn't need drama right now.

Jeff looked down at her for a while before letting out a breath and nodding. Sighing in relief, she led him out and up the stairs.

Because there were only three bedrooms in the house, she shared a room with her twin sisters. Her mum had one, her uncle the other while her poor cousin was forced to sleep on the couch. But as she pushed the door open, she realised straight away that none of her things were still in the room.

Tasha, her other sister, was sitting in front of the old vanity table, doing her make-up. Thankfully, she never did it as bad as Keisha. She was usually the nice one.

"Hey, Keri," Tasha said, not looking up once from applying her eyeliner.

She was acting as if they'd only seen each other that day. Well, at least she wasn't asking what she was doing home like they all had.

"Hey Tash," she answered. "How's it going?"

"Alright. Where've you been?"

"Around," she shrugged.

"Did you bring me any money?"

"Just a bit," she said as she pulled a twenty from her pocket.

"Thanks," Tasha said, finally looking at her. "Who's that?"

"Jeff. Matt's brother."

Tasha nodded at Jeff in greeting before bending down to find a pair of shoes.

"How's Matt, anyway?"

"He's alright."

She walked further into the room to look around.

"Mum got rid of your stuff," Tahsa informed her.

"What? Why?"

Tasha shrugged.

"Says she hasn't seen you in years so might as well."

"I was here on Christmas day!"

Tasha shrugged again.

"There's still some stuff in the garage, boxed up, waiting to be thrown."

She rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. So much for family!

Instead of walking back the way they'd come, she walked further up the hallway to the last door. As she'd known, Ronnie was in there, on his father's bed with a bunch of books around him. Even though he was just her cousin, he'd always treated her better than her mother and sisters. They'd clicked from the word go, even though his dad didn't like it.

"Knock, knock."

A big smile spread on his face as he looked up from his studying. He was a handsome boy, very popular with the ladies even though the only thing he was interested in was getting into university and away from the shithole he'd called home for so long.

"Keri!" he exclaimed as he jumped off the bed and gave her a big bear hug. "The hell have you been, girl?"

"I've been making this," she said as she pulled the rest of the money from her pocket and handed it to him.

"Keri... I've told you to stop doing this," he said, his voice lowered as he looked at the wad of notes in his hand. "You've already paid enough for my university tuition into my account."

"Yeah, but you're going to need a lot of stuff. Rent, books, food."

"I'll get a job," Ronnie protested. "You don't need to keep taking care of me. I'm very grateful for what you've done but you need to think about yourself now."

"Hey, I'm not doing all this shit for nothing. Once you're a rich doctor, I expect to leach off you till I die," she chuckled. "Just keep that away from everyone else."

"I know the deal. I'll deposit it into my account tomorrow," Ronnie sighed before finally acknowledging Jeff. "What, no introductions?"

"Sorry. Ronnie, Jeff. Jeff, this is Ronnie, future doctor and saviour of this god-awful family."

The men sized each other up for a while before finally shaking hands.

"Well, I can't stay but I'll see you again soon, alright?"

"Sure. Take care of yourself, Keri," Ronnie said as he gave her another hug.

She led Jeff back downstairs as quickly as she could and out of the door before anyone else said anything. Then she walked to the side of the house where the garage was. As Tasha had said, two big boxed marked 'trash' occupied one filthy corner and she sighed as she opened one. If her diary wasn't here...

"All the stuff you do, the stealing and shit," Jeff said as she started going through the stuff that represented everything she now owned, "you did it to put your cousin through school?"

"He's a good guy, he's going to do great things with his life," she shrugged. "He shouldn't have to be stuck with these people his whole life, wasting his life when he's so talented."

"But... you've sacrificed your own life," Jeff stated.

"He won't forget about me. I'll be alright once he's made it," she shrugged again just as her diary fell to the floor. "Got it."

She opened it to the calendar and handed it to Jeff anxiously.

"I've marked the dates."

She watched Jeff's face as he looked at it but he gave nothing away.

"Let's go home. We'll work it out there."

She agreed eagerly. She didn't want to spend another second near her so-called family.

"Want me to carry these things to the car?"

She nodded, hiding her face because she knew she was going to cry. Her own mother didn't want her...

* * *

As Jeff drove back to Matt's house, he did a lot of thinking. He was forced to sift through the ashes of everything he had thought he'd known and discovered he didn't know this girl at all. She was the exact opposite of everything he'd ever thought.

She didn't sleep around.

She didn't feel good about spending money that wasn't hers.

She was very loyal to those she loved even if they didn't deserve it– it hadn't been hard to see that even with all the nasty things that had come out of her family's mouth she'd desperately wanted things to be different.

And all the crimes she'd committed had been to aid her cousin. She'd scammed, stolen and hustled to pay his tuition. In his book, that made her very, very selfless.

Her family really didn't deserve her.

He looked over at her briefly and saw she was still trying to contain herself. It made him want to turn the car around and give her family a piece of his mind.

Did she really believe all that shit? That she was ugly and good for nothing? The girl was the most beautiful person he knew, and he knew _a lot_ of beautiful women! How could she believe that? She'd had a string of men after her from the time she'd hit puberty; surely that had alerted her to the fact that she was very desirable? And how could they just push her out of their lives as if she was nothing?

Still, he'd said pretty much the same things to her for years now. He'd thought he'd known her better than anyone, yet he'd had no clue... How would he even begin to make up for that?

Reaching out, he placed his hand over hers and squeezed. She didn't squeeze back, but at least she didn't push his hand away, which was a start.

As he continued to drive, he thought of something else. Her diary.

As much as he'd hated the thought of a strange man taking her virginity and fathering her child, he realised there was something even worse. If the man was someone he knew.

The dates had confirmed Keri had got pregnant when she'd been home for Christmas and New Year's.

The man he had to hunt down and kill was someone they probably all considered a friend.

* * *

**Thank you all for your lovely reviews. I'm writing as often as I can but I end up falling asleep after one sentence. Please don't abandon me...**


	16. Chapter 16

"Hey guys. How did it go?" Matt asked as soon as they walked into the kitchen.

Jeff opened the fridge to grab a beer but thought better of it when he realised it would only make Keri want one, too. He grabbed two bottles of water instead and handed her one.

"We paid up, but I think we should get better security," he told his brother. "The guy wasn't very happy that she no longer owes him."

"I'll get on that," Matt agreed. "I was going to, anyway, after the way they easily broke in."

"I'm just going to take a walk," Keri said.

They watched her walk out of the house and Jeff knew she was going to finally break down and cry, away from his prying eyes.

"What happened?" Matt asked.

"We stopped by her mother's place," he explained.

Just thinking about her made him angry again.

"Oh," Matt said. "The Wicked Witch of the North."

"I don't get how anyone could treat their own child like that," Jeff said, shaking his head. "She told Keri she's ugly and I got the feeling that wasn't the first time, and the whole time we were there they were trying to get rid of her. Then we found out she threw most of her stuff out in the trash. I mean, what was that? Is she jealous of her own child?"

"How so?"

"Keri's beautiful. She's more beautiful than all of them combined and she doesn't even need to cake her face with makeup," he admitted. "Maybe Donna feels threatened somehow."

"You think Keri's beautiful?" Matt asked with a smile on his lips.

Of everything he'd said his brother had only picked up on that?

He scowled and ignored him, deciding that was the safest route.

"I know they're her family and I can't stop her from seeing them, but I've tried to tell her that she doesn't have to put up with it, that we're more her family than they are. She still thinks eventually her mother will tell her how much she loves her and apologise for all the shit she's said and done over the years," Matt sighed.

"She's not going back there again," he decided.

"Jeff, you can't stop her."

No, he probably couldn't. Maybe he could threaten the holy hell out of the family to make them nicer instead.

"And you can't be nasty to her family, either," Matt added, accurately reading his thoughts. "Shane tried that before and Keri didn't talk to him for more than six months."

Well, damn! He'd really wanted to bash her uncle's face in and leave the holy fear in the others so they wouldn't treat Keri like she was shit ever again.

"I'm going to see how she is," he sighed.

"Are you two... friends now?"

"I guess," he answered, though he wasn't going to explain what had brought on the sudden change. He didn't think Matt would appreciate hearing how he'd forced himself on her.

"Well, good. With all the shit with her family, she doesn't need shit here, too," Matt said as he washed out a coffee mug. "Well, I'm going out for a while, there's stuff to edit on the Hardy Show, then we're all coming back here to eat and watch that video that Shane's been trying to make us watch."

"Alright. See you later, then."

Jeff walked out to the back porch. He was dying for a smoke but he knew he had to limit himself now since he was trying to make Keri quit. A quick search of his pockets revealed his lighter but not his box of cigarettes.

Frowning, he searched again, then stopped when he guessed what had happened to them.

Shaking his head, he walked down to the clearing in the woods and sure enough came upon Keri with a cigarette between her fingers while tears ran down her face.

"Aw, man!" he said under his breath.

Having discovered he couldn't stand it when she cried, he just had to see her crying a million times, didn't he?

But because the ground had shifted beneath their feet, he knew he just couldn't leave her to cry. He had to comfort her.

She was facing the creek so she didn't see him come up beside her until he sat down on the grassy bank next to her. Then it only seemed natural to get rid of her smoke and gather her up in his arms, where he noticed she fit so perfectly.

Her sobs tore at his heart. For once, he could feel her pain, pain he hadn't realised was there even though it was so deep rooted.

"Please... don't cry, Keri," he whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

"I don't know what I ever did to them," she sobbed.

"Shhh. You didn't do anything," he said. "They're just jealous of you."

She snorted through her tears, indicating her disbelief.

"They are," he insisted, tilting her head so he could look into her eyes. "You're gorgeous, they probably feel intimidated."

"Have you met my mother?" she snorted again. "She's beautiful, she has no need to be threatened by anyone and she knows it."

"Sure, she's beautiful," he admitted, "but you're stunning. You turn heads and don't even notice it; maybe that's what adds to the attraction. Your mother has to work hard to get noticed."

She snorted again. Obviously her family had done a number on her over the years.

He let go of her to kneel in front of her, taking her tiny hands in his.

"You're the most beautiful woman I know," he said truthfully, meeting her eyes. "And I'm not just saying this. You know I don't do that. Every inch of you... you gorgeous hair; your expressive eyes, the way they turn to gold when I touch you; your little nose; your perfect, sinful lips..."

Maybe this wasn't a good idea. As he was talking, he found himself remembering just how delightful her whole body was and that wasn't a good thing, not when he couldn't touch her again.

But if it meant removing that sadness from her eyes...

"The way your impossibly bendy little body moves... the curves... your perfect, tempting breasts..."

His voice lowered to a whisper because he was just doing himself major damage and he knew it.

"Even your skin is sexy... You've been the object of my fantasies for so long..."

Maybe that wasn't a good idea, admitting that, but darn it, his dick was doing the thinking now.

"Really?" she whispered. "How come I didn't know?"

That was like a bucket of ice cold water on him.

"Because you were innocent," he sighed. "I should have realised it even then. And in some ways, you're still innocent now. You have a lot you still have to learn about men and women."

And he still didn't like thinking about that, about the next man she let herself go all the way with.

"I don't know. I don't think after what's happened I'll ever trust a man again," she muttered.

"You will. I admit, yours has been a very unfortunate initiation to the act of love but I'm hoping you'll be able to look past that one day and see how beautiful it can be."

"You still think you forced me, don't you?" she sighed.

"I just don't get how you could be so nice to me, after that," he sighed.

"Maybe because if you hadn't done that I'd have suffered some sort of nervous breakdown when Dr. Jenkins called. You've made the whole mess slightly manageable."

He could tell she meant it. But it still didn't make what he'd done any less wrong.

"I have a lot to make up for."

"No, you don't. Whatever's happened in the past, even with all our fighting, you always had my back more than anybody else. I think we should call it even."

She smiled up at him as she said this and he was struck again by how beautiful that smile was. And those lips...

He found himself slowly lowering his head to hers, even though his head was screaming at him not to start anything. But it was too late. The second his lips touched hers, he was lost.

He'd never felt anything like this, not even with Maria – whom he knew without a doubt that he loved. Her lips were so soft, yet the feelings they evoked in him were anything but; like a fire slow burning inside him while it weakened his whole body. He sucked on her lower lip as he begged entrance, and was rewarded when her lips parted. He didn't need a second invitation to devour her mouth and the heat it offered.

He didn't push himself into her, or tangle his hands in her hair to hold her closer no matter how much he wanted to because he needed her to know that this was all her. No force. Not like the last time.

When her fingers found their way under his t-shirt he groaned into her mouth. Did this girl have any idea what she was doing to him?

It didn't take long to discard the t-shirt and for her hands to tentatively roam over his torso while his mouth continued to taste her. Her slow pace was killing him, but he wasn't going to take control. But he found he had to, just for a little while, when her hands hesitated at his belt buckle and then drew away. He undid his jeans for her but didn't take them off, hoping she realised that anytime she wanted to stop he would.

Thankfully, she didn't stop. She slid her hands down his sides to push both his jeans and boxers down and he felt the breeze as it hit his exposed dick; his rock hard, hot, throbbing dick. He felt her little hands trail to his butt before moulding the hard muscle of his cheeks. And he felt the little tremble run through her body as a moan left her lips to indicate her pleasure. He found himself hardening even more at the thought that she found his body pleasing.

He swore he almost screamed when her tiny fingers wrapped themselves around him. And when they slowly started to move, he had to stop them. There was no way he'd last if she carried on.

"Don't you like it?" she whispered, moving her hand away as if she'd done something wrong.

"I like it too much," he growled. "Please... take your clothes off."

Her eyes on his, she did as he'd asked. She did it slowly and he followed every movement, watching as she revealed every inch of herself. Then when she was naked she laid herself back and waited.

He poised himself over her, kissing her gently but doing nothing else.

"Jeff..." she protested.

"Show me what you want, sweetheart," he whispered.

She grabbed one of his hands and placed it on her chest.

"Touch me," she pleaded.

And he did. He touched all of her, from the soft peaks of her breast all the way down between her legs until she was a quivering mess. Then she pulled his head down to follow the same path and he obliged again, using all his skill to leave a trail of fire down her body.

Would he ever get enough of her unique taste?

As his tongue greedily probed within her, he doubted that very much. He would never tire of this.

He was addicted to her. Years of wanting had come to this. As he got drunk on her juices, he knew he would never have this amazing sex with anyone else; his body would never react as strongly to anyone, and he would never meet anyone as responsive to him as the woman mewling beneath him.

It wasn't a nice thought.

"Jeff... make love to me."

At that throaty request, he moved back up her body quickly and positioned himself against her. Then he pushed himself in slowly, all the way, watching her face as she became undone. She wrapped her legs around him and ground her hips in an attempt to make him go faster but he restrained himself.

He was going to make sure that this time was different.

He wasn't going to just dick her. He was making love to her.

As he moved, he tasted her mouth again, swallowing her screams and his own. This new intimacy, the kissing, brought something that hadn't been there before. His pace meant he could feel things he normally would have missed; the heat of every single sinew of her core as she gripped him... the incredible sharp sensation that flowed through him with each sensual thrust... the way her body trembled and shook as he moved... the way his own body trembled in reaction... It all added up and built into an incredible sensual feeling; intense yet very different from what they'd shared before.

"Oh, Jeff..." she whispered against his lips.

Her fingernails were clawing his back, probably leaving marks, but he doubted she knew she was doing it. This was a moment of pure emotion, the stuff he normally lived on. They were high without the drugs; they were floating, feeling...

When he put his hand under her but to lift her, he went in deeper and let out a satisfied groan when she screamed her appreciation. He wanted to remain there, buried deep inside her. He wanted to feel this way for the rest of his life and beyond. It was beautiful...

He'd refrained from speeding up, from pounding the shit out of her like he'd done before, and been rewarded greatly. The slow burn was incredible.

Then her muscles started quivering around his hard length and started choking him. He finally took his lips from hers and looked down at her. She had tears spilling down the sides of her face, but he knew they were happy tears. She'd been moved as much as he had.

When she finally cried out, her muscles became a vice on him and triggered his climax. He had never made so much noise before; to his ears, he sounded like a mighty lion, roaring as he stood over the jungle he ruled.

Breathless, boneless, mindless, they finally started to freefall back to earth, limbs entwined on the grassy bank of the creek.

* * *

It was much later - after taking her again - when he lay back with her in his arms, deeply regretting what he had just done.

She'd been feeling vulnerable and he'd taken advantage. Twice. After promising he wouldn't touch her again.

But he found that, if he could take it all back, he wouldn't. He'd never felt anything like all the things he had felt being so close to her.

He knew he was being selfish; the last thing Keri needed was a horny dick sleeping with her any chance he got, distracting her from the issues that really mattered right now.

On top of working out who the daddy was, they still had the whole 'keeping the baby' thing to talk about. He only had one more day before going back to work and he needed them to come to some sort of agreement before then.

Now probably wasn't the time to do it, but he knew they would have a houseful later and he wouldn't get another chance.

He sighed.

"What?" she asked sleepily.

"I wanna talk about the baby," he started.

"There will be no baby, Jeff," she said.

He could feel her tensing up already and almost regretted opening his mouth. Remaining ignorant and spending the rest of the day with her in his arms sounded so attractive, but he knew he couldn't do that.

"Just hear me out. Please."

She sighed.

"What do you want to say?" she asked.

"I know the baby's come as a shock, and you would have preferred to have it under different circumstances," he started, "but it's there. You can't ignore it anymore. He or she already has a heartbeat."

"What's your point?" she asked through grit teeth.

"I'd like you to consider keeping it," he said.

"I can't do that," Keri said straight away. "Besides the fact that I don't know how it got there and I'd always thought I'd be in a proper, loving relationship with the man who fathers my children, I have no clue how to be a mother."

"No woman knows how to be a mother straight away," he argued. "It's something you learn."

"Oh, yes. And I have plenty of people to teach me, plenty of good examples," she said sarcastically.

"We'll do it together. You won't ever have to be alone," he promised.

"Yeah," she grunted. "You're on the road for most of the year. You'd be a big help."

"My contract is up in September. I can be at home for as long as you need me."

She looked up at him then, with a puzzled frown on her face. He was just as shocked as she was. He didn't know why he'd suggested that, it hadn't been his plan at all. He'd thought more along the lines of everyone chipping in; Legend, Matt, Shane, Shannon, Yuk and Kimo, as well as the rest of the family.

"You'd take a break to help me?" she asked.

"Yeah. Besides, it'll do me good, too," he shrugged.

And he found that he meant it. He wanted to be there to help her through this. He wanted to be in the baby's life.

"You don't know what you're saying," Keri snapped as she stood up and started pulling her clothes on.

"Yes, I do," he insisted as he found his own clothes.

"I'm not bringing a fatherless kid into this world; there are enough of us out there," she snapped. "Besides, what the hell do I know about babies? What would I teach it? How to hot-wire a car? How to steal someone's wallet? Cloning credit cards? I'd be a rubbish mother!"

"You'll be a brilliant mother! You know what not to do, so that's a start."

Fully dressed now, she picked up his cigarettes and pulled one out.

"And you can't do that anymore. At least till we've agreed on this," he said as he grabbed them from her and threw them into the lake.

"You mean, until I do things your way?" she snapped, glaring angrily at him.

He took both her hands in his and looked at into her eyes.

"You have a life growing inside you," he said. "No matter how it got there, that _is_ amazing. A tiny little person___"

"Who's going to depend on me for _everything_."

"And you think you won't be able to provide for him?" he asked. "How long have you been watching out for your cousin Ronnie? I don't know the whole story there, but you've probably been more of a parent to him than his own Dad!"

"Ronnie was already grown when we moved down here. I didn't need to change his diapers or anything."

"But I'm guessing you fed him? You put him through school? You've apparently saved enough for him to go to med school, _without touching a cent of Matt's money_," he argued gently. "If that's not a lifelong commitment, I don't know what is."

"That's different."

"No, it isn't."

"What if I hate the kid? I mean, I don't even know where it came from, what if I resent it and ruin its life?"

"You can't hate your mother for all the shit she's done to you. What makes you think you'll hate this innocent little thing, your own flesh and blood?"

She looked away from him after that, but he had a feeling she was now thinking seriously about this. That was all he was asking.

"You don't know what you're saying," she mumbled. "This shit between us is going to wear off and we'll go back to arguing all the time. How are you going to help me with a baby if we can't be in the same room together?"

"It won't be like that. Things have changed now."

"Yeah, for you. For some reason you've opened your eyes and seen things as they really are for a change. But you're still the same Nero to me. Besides all this sexual stuff, I don't even like you."

Which was understandable, he thought. He couldn't expect her to like him just like that; they had to work at it.

"I promise things will be different now. I'm not saying it'll be easy, we'll probably still argue a lot," he said gently, then he grinned slyly and added, "But at least this time, we know the perfect way to kill the argument."

Maybe it was the wrong thing to say because she turned away from him and started heading back up along the creek to the path that led to the house.

"Sex doesn't solve anything," she snapped.

"No, it doesn't," he agreed as he caught up with her. "But it's a start."

"Aren't you forgetting something here? Or shall I say, _someone_?"

Shit...

The fuck was wrong with him? How could he forget the woman he loved so easily? He'd betrayed her in more ways than one that afternoon; besides actually sleeping with another woman, he'd been thinking how completely perfect she was for him, physically. What he shared with Maria completely paled in comparison.

Even though he didn't really know if he liked Keri now, and he knew for a fact he loved his girlfriend.

"Umm..."

"Forget it, Nero," she snapped. "I appreciate the offer to help, but clearly you haven't thought anything through. It's not just Maria, it's everyone else. How would I explain it to them?"

He walked silently beside her the rest of the way to the house. Keri had a good point, something he should never have lost sight of. Once he confessed to Maria he had to be on his best behaviour if he wanted her to consider ever taking him back and trusting him again. How would he do that if he was in constant contact with Keri? And how would he be there for this baby if he was trying to suck up to Maria, too?

Maybe if he explained about the baby, Maria would understand?

Yeah, right! No woman would put up with their man helping to raise the bastard child of the woman they couldn't help but sleep with...

Shit.

He knew he might have to chose, somewhere down the line. The woman he loved or the woman he loved to fuck. And he couldn't see himself letting anyone go. At least not yet.

Keri... sleeping with her only made him want to sleep with her again. And after having discovered what he'd thought he'd known had been all in his head, he found he wanted to get to know her properly, maybe become friends. But she was right, all they had was the unbelievable sex. He was pretty sure, once they found a way to fix these current problems and get past them, they would probably still fight like cats and dogs. They were just incompatible in every way except in the bedroom.

The baby... he'd never thought about kids before, but after seeing this one on the screen, he really wanted Keri to have it. And for her to have it, he had to promise to be there for her. And to do that, he had to choose them over Maria...

And Maria. The love of his life. How could he let her go?

"Could you do one thing for me, though?" he asked as they walked into the house.

"What?"

"Come watch the DVD the doctor gave us," he said.

"Jeff___"

"Look at all the sides before you make a decision," he cut in, taking her hand in his. "Please."

Keri sighed but allowed him to lead her upstairs and to his bedroom, where the disc was already in the player because he'd watched it any chance he got since they'd got it the day before. He sat her on the bed, making her comfortable against his head board before he grabbed the remote and sat next to her.

Then he pressed play.

He felt her tense up even before the image came onto the screen, and by the time they heard the heartbeat, he was sure she was ready to bolt. He put his arm around her waist and held her close in a bid to make her stay, and let out a little breath of relief when he felt her relax slightly.

He looked down at her face and watched the DVD through her eyes. Besides the fear and the shock, he saw something like fascination as her eyes took in the little developing person on the screen.

"It's a little person," she whispered.

"Yes," he whispered back. "A little person who already knows you and loves you."

He took a chance and gently put his hand on her still flat stomach. She turned to face him and he saw unshed tears glistening in her beautiful eyes.

"I'm going to fuck up, just as I fuck up with everything else," she whispered.

"I'll be here. We'll do this together."

Somehow.

"I have to think about it," she said finally.

"Just promise me you will. Promise me I won't come home next week to find it's too late."

"I wouldn't do that to you," she sighed.

"Thank you," he said sincerely, dropping a quick kiss on her lips.

But of course, he should have known kissing her wouldn't be a simple thing. Immediately, the need and fire that burnt just under the surface erupted again and he had to struggle to rein it in. Now wasn't the time.

Keri turned her attention back to the screen and watched as her baby moved around. He made himself more comfortable and held her closer before watching as well.

The baby he wanted so much. The baby that belonged to another man. A man who, quite possibly, he knew.

* * *

By the time Matt and the rest of the guys came, he and Keri had showered – together, of course, even if every thrust into her hot body had come with immeasurable guilt about his girlfriend - and were already downstairs. He'd made her something to eat and fussed over her until she'd finished, then made her comfortable in the lounge.

"You don't have to do all this just coz you want me to keep the baby," Keri said as he fluffed the cushions behind her.

"I'm doing it 'cause I want to," he admitted. "I kinda like that we're not fighting."

"Yeah, but for how long?" she grunted.

"Doesn't matter. Next time you try to argue with me I'll just do this," he said, kneeling down on the floor between her legs and capturing her mouth in a searing kiss that left both of them breathless.

If he hadn't heard the door open and the noise his brother and friends made as they came into the house, he knew he'd probably have made love to her again.

"Can I come to you tonight?" he begged in a whisper.

Keri nodded, still slightly dazed, and he smiled at her before straightening his clothes and sitting on the couch the furthest away from her.

Seconds later, the gang walked in.

"Wow. Matt wasn't kidding," Shannon said.

"Not only are they not fighting, they're in the same room," Kimo said.

"Just shut up and put the damn DVD on," Jeff muttered.

He knew they'd get a lot of questions on the sudden change and he still didn't know how to explain it.

"Yeah," Matt said with a chuckle. "If we say anything we might jinx it."

They all piled in and kissed and hugged Keri before settling down. Matt went to grab some beer and junk food for everyone, leaving Jeff to study the way the men were interacting with Keri. He didn't want to have to think that one of these guys had done it, but he couldn't leave anyone out. Everyone she'd been in contact with before, during and after Matt's party was suspect.

Keri hadn't asked him about the dates in the diary yet, but he assumed that was because she'd been too messed up due to the visit to her mum's so it had slipped her mind. When she _did_ ask, he needed to know what to say. How could he tell her that the man who'd brought her such pain and changed her life so drastically was a friend of hers?

"Okay guys," Matt said as he walked in and placed a bunch of things the table. "Beer and chips. We'll have some proper food after, when we set the barbeque up."

"Is the DVD set up?" Shane asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, play the damn thing already."

As Matt pressed the button, Jeff leaned forward, ready to scan every face in the video to find the one lusting after Keri. Besides his own, of course...

* * *

**So his resolve not to sleep with her again didn't last long. Ha! And now they are about to watch the DVD... **

**Randy will be back in the picture soon. I can't believe I've done so many chapters without him.**

**Thank you for the lovely reviews everyone. Thanks for staying with me. I promise, in the next chapter I'll thank all ya'll by name or reply to your reviews. I really appreciate that you take time out to do that.**


	17. Chapter 17

Shane had started filming at breakfast, because they'd come over to help Matt get everything he needed and set up before everyone came later in the afternoon.

Keri really wasn't in the mood to watch any of this, but she had to, to avoid any questions. Her mind was whirling. Not only was she somehow pregnant, Jeff had practically begged her to keep the baby. And if it wasn't for the fact that he'd bedazzled her with his dick, she would have laughed in his face and told him to fuck off.

But was keeping the baby just because he'd turned her head momentarily a good thing? She had no doubt whatever sick thing was happening between them was only temporary. Once he got tired of her, as he'd assured her he would do – what had he said? That the 'sick need to fuck would burn out'? - they would go back to normal and she'd be stuck with a baby she couldn't take care of on her own.

But he'd made her watch the ultrasound DVD now... she'd seen the little baby growing inside her. How could she go ahead with an abortion now?

She had too much to think about. The baby, who the daddy was, what that meant for her in terms of quitting her lucrative job because no one wanted a pregnant stripper, if she would ever find out how she got pregnant, Jeff – the amazing sex and of course the implications of sleeping with the man she'd hated most of her life. A man who had a girlfriend. A man who'd proved, by cheating on that girlfriend, that he couldn't be trusted. A man who'd always been there to get her out of trouble no matter what...

She sighed loudly, because thinking was getting her nowhere and giving her a headache.

"You okay?" Shannon asked.

"Yeah," she smiled.

"Are you tired? You can go up and take a nap if you want," Jeff piped up.

She noticed that everyone turned to look at Jeff when he said this. Obviously, this new side of him would take a bit of getting used to. Or maybe not, since it probably wouldn't last.

"I'm fine," she told him.

Jeff nodded, ignoring the looks from the other and turning to watch the screen again.

He'd asked if he could come to her that night, and like a fool, she'd agreed. He was using her. She knew this, yet she couldn't help herself when he touched her. Her body took over, and it wanted Jeff more than anything. With everything else going on, she'd stopped asking herself why him, but she still hoped that it would die out like he'd said before. She couldn't handle all that intensity, not with a man like Jeff. It was a bit scary and exhilarating at the same time, and it touched her very deep down, something she didn't feel comfortable sharing with Jeff. When these feelings for him, or rather, his body, did die out, she would be able to move on, to find someone more suitable to settle down with.

But for now, with her head so messed up, there was the fact that she was starting to crave those stolen moments, when no thinking was necessary and she got away from it all.

She sighed again and forced her eyes back to the screen.

oOo

"_I still don't get why you had to drag us out here when you have Jeff and Keri to help," Shannon whined._

"_These useless shitheads?"_

"_Hey, I'm right here!" Keri said, throwing a piece of fruit at Matt._

"_I'd spend all day breaking up fights instead of getting the party set up," Matt continued, ignoring her._

"_True," Shane said. "Remember last year?"_

"_Yes. The Cracker Barrel incident?" Shannon asked with a mock shudder. "We would have spent New Year's in jail."_

_There was a bit more banter then they all got up to start the long day. Shane pointed his camcorder at Keri as she went for a beer instead._

"_Starting early, Keri?"_

"_No point in waiting," Keri smiled at him, lifting her beer in salute before walking out of the kitchen._

_Almost seconds later, Jeff was doing the same thing._

"_It's only freaking ten o'clock!" Shane exclaimed._

"_Excuse the fuck out of me if I don't give a shit," Jeff muttered._

_Shane just laughed. _

"_Aw, poor Jeffro. Keri's home and he's miserable."_

"_It's not fucking funny," Jeff snapped as he also walked out of the kitchen._

"_Something tells me this is going to be one hell of a party," Shane said._

"_Put that damn thing down and come on," Matt called out._

Shane switched the camcorder off.

oOo

Shane switched the camcorder on, and the next scene was of Matt's back yard hours later.

_La da da da da da La, Da Daaa,  
La da da da, La da da da, La da da daaa_

I was gonna clean my room until I got high  
I was gonna get up and find the broom but then I got high  
my room is still messed up and I know why (why man?) yea heyy,  
- cause I got high, cause I got high, because I got high...

She recognised her and Jeff's voice but couldn't work out where it was coming from until the camera zoomed in on a couple of trees.

"_Think this will go on for much longer?" Shannon asked as he sipped his beer. "They sound fucking awful."_

"_God, I hope not!" Matt said as he continued to look up at the large makeshift hammock that had somehow been miraculously erected in his back yard._

_It had been suspended between two large trees beyond his swimming pool, quite a distance from the house. It didn't look safe, certainly not safe enough to hold the combined weight of the two people sprawled across it with stupid grins on their faces as they butchered song after song._

"_Maybe we should cut off their alcohol supply then," Shane suggested. He was behind the camera, so they couldn't see him._

_The three of them immediately looked down at the large container that had been placed underneath the hammock with two really long, winding tubes in it serving as straws. It was almost finished but God only knew what had been mixed in it to start off with._

"_Nah. I kinda prefer them like this. It's... peaceful," Matt said._

_The three of them stood in silence a while longer, Matt and Shannon standing with one hand on their beers and the other in their pockets, just observing. And of course, enjoying the peace. _

"_Think they'd have crashed by the time your party starts?" Shane asked. "It's only gone one o'clock. Your party ain't for quite a few more hours. Jeff won't be too pleased if he misses it."_

"_Have you forgotten who you're talking about?" Shannon chuckled._

"_Yeah. He'll still be drinking come tomorrow morning," Matt agreed."And Keri will pass out soon, only to wake up and start all over again."_

_Silence again, as they sipped on their beers._

"_Next time we have to hold Jeff down or lock Keri in a room to stop them fighting, remind me to watch this video and remember this day," Shane mused._

"_How is it that two people who hate each other so much when they are sober get like this when they are completely trashed?" Shannon asked._

"_I keep telling you people; it's not hate. Those two are a love story waiting to happen," Kimo said as he came into the picture with a few more beers and passed them round before also standing with his hand in his pocket and watching the pair in the hammock._

At this statement, she looked at Kimo, who just shrugged nonchalantly. Then her eyes met Jeff's. What did he think of what their friends thought of their relationship?

"_The day that happens I think Matt will be waiting to kick Jeff's ass," Yuk laughed. "The steaks are done. Are we going to stand here all day and watch those two or are we going to eat?"_

_They heard a giggle and all looked up at the hammock again. _

"_I might stand here a while longer," Matt said. _

"_Oooh, Jeffy... You're a bad, bad boy," then Keri giggled again._

_Jeff grinned and whispered something in her ear again which had her laughing out loud._

"_Now that's something you don't see everyday," Shane mused. _

"_Makes me wish we could keep them drunk," Shannon sighed. _

_...querh ner ner ner, le le le le, le le, le le, quer ner le _

_ner neich ner neh_

_translation:_

_So you can suck my dick if you don't like my shit_

_Coz I was high when I wrote this so suck my dick..._

"_Eminem? The hell are they going to sing that when they're so drunk?" Yuk laughed._

_But they did. Just as they did the next few songs after that. It was slurred and ugly and a lot of noise, but they did it together. And they laughed a lot. It was a beautiful sight._

"_Maybe you should cancel your party and we'll do this all night," Kimo said._

_Matt grunted. Matthew Moore Hardy's Great New Year's Bash was legendary. What better a night to have it than when his brother and friend were actually getting along and not likely to ruin it?_

"_The food is done, the drinks are chilling and the music is all sorted. Why waste all that?" he asked._

"_Because this, Matt, is epic," Shannon said._

_Keri laughed again and rolled over so she was on top of Jeff. _

_She was initiating body contact. Willingly. Without fatal intentions._

"_Yes," Matt smiled. "Yes it is."_

"_Just think how great it will be once they actually get together," Kimo said. "If they get angry with each other they'll just fuck and all will be well."_

Jeff had said the same thing to her only that afternoon. She caught his eye and the little smirk on his face and knew he was remembering that, too.

_Matt turned his head and scowled at his friend, who only chuckled and raised his beer._

"_Those two have been fighting for fifteen years. If that was going to happen, it would have already," Matt growled. "So get it out of your thick head."_

"_I'll give it another year," Kimo continued with a sniff. "They'll be doing it like animals. I'd even put money on it but I know you'd sabotage it somehow."_

"_I'd put money on it never happening," Shane said. _

"_I don't know. Kimo makes a bit of sense," Shannon said. "We've tried everything else to get them to stop fighting. What if it's just a whole lot of sexual frustration? I mean, they seem to actually enjoy messing with each other. What if it's just a form of foreplay?"_

"_You're nuts," Matt said. "She's practically our sister. If Jeff thinks about her like that then he's as sick as you are!"_

_Keri laughed again and they looked up to see that Jeff had rolled over on top of her in an attempt to come down from the hammock._

_He finally managed it by falling face first onto the ground and then slowly making it back to his feet. Then he pulled the straws out of the container and picked it up before walking towards them._

"_Hey, people," he slurred. "Bitchin' party."_

"_Bitchin'?" Shannon chuckled. "Do people still say that?"_

"_Party hasn't started yet, Nero," Matt said._

"_Really? No shit," Jeff said as he walked past them. "Well, tell your peoples to hurry coz I'm about to finish all the alcohol."_

_They watched him stumble his way to the house then turned back to watch Keri in the hammock._

"_Hey, Keri," Shane called out._

_She whipped her head up and grinned at them through a curtain of thick brown hair._

"_Hey, guys. Wachu doin' all the way over there? Come join the party," she slurred, beckoning them over. "I made this 'specially for you."_

_As she shook the hammock a little, they saw one end slip just a little bit._

"_Thanks, but we're good," Yuk chuckled._

"_Matt your party is awesome," she continued._

"_Thanks. Wait till it actually starts then it'll really be the shit," Matt chuckled._

oOo

_There was a mish-mash of bodies on the screen, everyone talking and laughing at the same time. The party was in full swing. Shannon, Yuk and a couple of their friends from work were having a drinking competition.... Matt was in a corner, lipping up one of the Divas he worked with... _

"Is that Gail Kim?" Jeff chuckled. "I thought I saw you with Eve that night."

"Gail's _so_ last year, man. As soon as the countdown ended and we welcomed 2009, he was on to the next woman!" Shannon joked.

"Ha ha," Matt said. "Watch the damned video."

_Shane and Caitlyn were grinding to some sexy song and Keri popped up in front of the camera, shaking her breasts in their tight constraints and blocking them from the shot... _

Jeff immediately went hard at the sight. He crossed his legs and cleared his throat, hoping no one would notice.

"Skank!" Shannon smirked.

"You ain't seen nothing yet," Shane assured them

_Jeff sat with Kimo and his girlfriend laughing at something... a bunch of other wrestlers popped onto the screen, the ones who had made it to Matt's legendary end of year bash... Everyone was having a good time._

oOo

So far, Jeff had seen nothing out of the ordinary. Sure, quite a few guys had checked Keri out, as they always did, but she seemed to have been with him most of the night. It was weird. They were like best friends or something, both pissed out of their minds and amusing themselves. Sometimes it even seemed as if they hadn't realised that there was a party going on around them.

He remembered none of it.

He continued to watch, frowning when a few of the guys tried to get with Keri then smirking when she blew all of them off by slurring, 'I'm with Jeff.'

"I've heard it all now," Matt muttered.

They continued to watch the party, everyone getting drunker and more adventurous with every scene. They discussed some of the antics that could be used for the show. At some point in the night, Shannon got drunk enough to try out Keri's hammock, with Shane urging him on, only to have the whole thing crashing down on him. Instead of helping, Shane just filmed it all, laughing behind the camera.

As the morning neared, people gradually started leaving, and those who were staying over retired to their rooms. He and Keri had given up their rooms, stating that 'sleep was for pussies' and they'd be up all night. Those that hadn't been accommodated into the guest rooms crashed wherever they could.

Shane was obviously enjoying his filming, but eventually no one was providing him with the entertainment he wanted, as they were either asleep or about to pass out.

"_All of you are pathetic," Shane said. "It's barely four in the morning. Thought we were supposed to party till the sun came up."_

_When he got no answer he obviously decided on a fresh tactic._

"_I'd bet my bike none of you would take all your clothes off right now," Shane's voice sounded through._

"_Why would we do a crazy thing like that?" Kimo slurred in the background._

"_You wouldn't. That's why I'd bet my bike," Shane laughed. "If you were to do that, it would be perfect blackmail material for me. Whenever I need a couple of grand I'd threaten to leak it on YouTube."_

"_You'd bet your bike?" Jeff slurred as the camera zoomed in on his face._

_Everyone knew how he loved Shane's bike._

"_I'm just playing, Jeffro," Shane laughed._

"_You can't take it back," Jeff slurred as he struggled to get to his feet._

_His t-shirt came off first and then he staggered out of the camera shot as he struggled with his belt just before a loud thud and a lot of swearing was heard. He'd crashed head first in a corner full of Matt's valuable ornaments._

"_Whoa! I was just sayin', man. Keep your fuckin' pants on."_

"_I want that bike!" Keri slurred, staggering into the shot and ripping her tight little top off. "And you can post this shit on YouTube all you want, you ain't gettin' shit from me."_

Jeff swallowed. Hard.

What was it he was supposed to be doing again? Oh, yeah. Finding the culprit... But Keri was shaking her breasts again and he forgot his line of thought.

"Keri!" Matt said, covering his eyes. "I don't want to see this stuff."

"Well, go somewhere else then. Some of us have no problem with it," Shannon teased as he mock leered at the picture.

_Jeff popped up behind Keri, now in just his boxers._

"_Want me to do a pose?" he slurred, mimicking Orton's gay pose before staggering out of the shot again and crashing in the opposite direction._

"_Pathetic," Keri said, as she tried to undo her jeans. "Can't even handle your drink."_

_Shane was laughing his head off as he zoomed in on her fingers. It was clear she couldn't handle her drink either because her fingers were nowhere near the button of her jeans. _

"_Jeff," she whined, finally. "I can't do it."_

_Then the next instant an equally drunk Jeff was tugging at the zip, mumbling obscenities when it didn't come undone before going on his knees and using his teeth on it._

To Jeff's mind, the scene looked disturbingly intimate. His hands were on her butt as he steadied himself and it looked like he was enjoying being so close to her a bit too much. And his tongue looked like it was coming out to play when it had no business to, not in front of the camera.

"_Stop playin' Nero," Keri giggled, her fingers entwined in his multi-coloured hair._

"_Oh, alright," Jeff huffed before easily undoing the jeans and slowly sliding them down her legs._

He couldn't have looked hornier if he'd tried. The look in his eyes as he took her near naked frame in... It said it all.

Did the others see it?

He looked away from the screen to see Matt looking at him, a slight frown on his face. He looked away quickly before he gave anything away.

The scene had cut to him and Keri, completely naked and rocking the guitars.

"Oh, my eyes!" Shannon said.

"Thought you didn't mind seeing Keri naked," Matt taunted.

"Oh, Keri I don't mind. It's the big, hairy thing next to her that's scaring me!"

Shane was avoiding filming the lower halves of their bodies but he'd accidentally dipped a bit too low a few times. Jeff swallowed. He'd been caught on camera, hard as rock. And, as his eyes didn't leave Keri's body for a second, it was easy to see why.

He looked at his brother and again found his eyes on him. This time, he seemed angry. He looked away again.

Shit.

"_Just take those old records off the shelf, I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself," Keri belted out as she and Jeff did a couple of wicked moves at the front of the room._

_Of course, with them being completely naked..._

"_Today's music ain't got the same soul , I like that old time rock and roll," Jeff slurred into the make shift microphone, his fingers strumming the notes of the old classic as best as he could._

"_Don't try to take me to a disco ; You'll never even get me out on the floor," Keri sang, her voice it's normal husky timbre as her fingers also played the notes._

"_In ten minutes I'll be late for the door, I like that old time rock and roll," Jeff sang, taking the mic again._

_Then their faces came together by the mic as they sang out the chorus._

"_Old time rock and roll,  
That kind of music just soothes the soul.  
I reminisce about the days of old,  
With that old time rock and roll...." _

_The whole time, Jeff's eyes were on Keri's face as if he was hungry for her. With their faces being so close, he looked like he was about to close the gap between them and kiss her._

"Okay, this is too weird," Matt muttered as he got up. "I'm going to fire up the barbeque."

Jeff let out a little breath of relief, but one look at Shane's face revealed he was also thinking along the same lines Matt had.

"It's finished, anyway," Shane told him.

"I'm still going outside," Matt stated. No one stopped him.

He stole a glance across the room at Keri and realised she was blushing and looking anywhere but the screen. With the new knowledge she had of his reactions to her, she probably realised what that look meant, too.

_At the end of the filming, Shane was doing the end commentary as he filmed every single person who'd crashed on the floors, the couches and even on the patios outside, drool and all. _

Jeff breathed a sigh of relief that the camera hadn't captured too much of his obvious lust for Keri. But it had showed no one else's lust either. He was no closer to finding out the truth than when they'd first started.

Instead of finding a few suspects, he'd been able to rule all of them out completely.

_Shane finally came to the kitchen where Keri was. She'd pulled her sexy little panties back on, but she might as well have been naked. Her firm breast bounced as she twirled to face Shane._

Jeff let out a little groan, then covered it up with a cough. But Kimo laughed and saluted him with his beer.

Did he know?

Well, sure. Everyone probably knew now. Unless they were blind.

Shit. Shit. Shit!

"_You should go lay down now, you look ready to drop," Shane said, the camera on Keri's face as she tried to open a bag of potato chips._

"_I'll sleep when I'm dead, my friend," she slurred._

_She waved his advice away as the bag finally opened and most of the chips scattered to the floor. With a shrug, she reached up into the cupboard to pull out another one._

"_I'm going to have to say goodnight. Caitlyn's waiting for me," Shane said as he set the camcorder down on the counter and pressed a button._

"That's it," Shane said as he stood up, then frowned when he saw the video still playing. "I _thought _that was it. Must not have pressed the right button."

_He'd only been gone a few seconds when Jeff staggered in, an unlit smoke hanging on the side of his lips._

"_The fuck are you doin'?" he asked as he started rummaging through the drawers, obviously looking for a light. _

"_I'm hungry," Keri muttered, trying to open a packet she'd finally managed to reach._

_She was leaning heavily on the fridge, so there was no question how drunk she was._

"_Give it here," Jeff sighed, grabbing the bag from her._

_Only he was completely pissed too. He staggered forward and in an instant, her body was crushed between his and the fridge. His cigarette fell to the floor unnoticed._

Jeff groaned, his eyes closing against the picture because, like fog clearing, it had all come back to him. He already knew what was going to happen.

Shit...

His dream... only it hadn't been a dream...

"Oh, my God! What the fuck?!" Shannon exclaimed as he got up and left the room hurriedly.

Jeff couldn't tell if that exclamation had been made in anger. He looked at the screen again to see his naked body pressed against Keri as their lips locked. His dick was straining against her, his hands all over her body as he groaned into her mouth.

He needed to stop this.

But Shane was gripping the remote, his mouth open in shock.

_He pushed her back against the fridge hard as his body crushed into hers. She tasted so good... so damn good. She was completely naked except for the lacy French panties, his for the taking. Her lips were making him giddy; he really thought he was going to explode right there. Her little body was writhing in his arms, her silky skin rubbing against his as she moaned against his lips. _

"_Mine," he growled, his lips leaving her momentarily. "Nobody else's. Just mine."_

"_Yours," she murmured backed, her big hazel eyes now liquid gold with desire._

Shane cleared his throat. He dropped the remote as if it burnt him. Then he calmly left the room. The other guys followed close behind without a word.

He looked at Keri again, and found her eyes widening with each passing second. Was she shocked? Was she angry?

Or had she not realised yet what was happening?

She was about to watch him take her virginity.

"Oh, shit..." he mumbled to himself.

He let out a mental scream, a really loud one before he started swearing at himself. The fuck had he done?

It was him?

All along they, been looking for the man who'd _raped_ her, the man who'd taken her virginity, the man who got her pregnant...

It was him?

_Fuck, it was him!_

* * *

_**AN/ Ha ha ha ha. Most of you guessed right. Gave it away in the very first chapter. Then when she had the same dream.**_

_**Next chapter is the reactions...**_

_**Thank you, thank you very much... **__, __hardycenagrl__, __dehlia666__, __alana2awesome__, __Mizzy681__, __JenniferRayne__, __Sinfully Sined__, __Bingobaby__, __Enigmatic Lotus Leaf__, __BourneBetter67__, __xSamiliciousx__, __LegacyChick__, __stripes31__, __hardyobsessed88__, __grleviathan__, __World's Biggest Jerichoholic__, __iluvmycena__, __Menaji__, __Voodoo Kisses__, __Magz86__ and of course __XxRatedRwrestlingenigmaXx__, who can only review through PMs (appreciate that)_ _**thank you for taking the time to tell me what you think so far. Glad you're all enjoying it.**_

_**Next chapter is almost done, as is the next one of Amazing Grace. Watch out for that soon.**_


	18. Chapter 18

_Fuck, it was him!_

All at once, conflicting emotions assaulted him. Guilt. Fear. _Satisfaction?? _

He risked another look at Keri. Her eyes were glued on the screen, where he now had her on the floor. Any second now, they'd hear her little scream when he'd broken through her barrier.

When that sound came, he saw her flinch before turning her head to meet his eyes.

Her eyes were accusing him.

"Keri..."

He stopped there because he didn't know what else to say.

The baby he wanted, the baby he'd asked her to keep was his. And yet now that he knew that, he found he wanted to distance himself from both of them.

He'd never wanted her to have his baby. He didn't even really know her. Up until a day ago, he hadn't even liked her. What they had was just sex... not something to build a solid enough base to start a family.

His eyes were drawn back to the screen when he heard his cry. He'd never seen himself come before; the look on his face held him for a little bit. The camcorder had somehow dropped to the floor and caught the full length of their bodies; her legs were locked around his back and his naked butt was pushing into her for all it was worth.

Even with the shock clouding his head, the picture of her legs wrapped around him sent heat cursing down his body.

_He dropped to his elbows, careful not to put his whole weight on her tiny body while he dropped a kiss on her lips. He'd been selfish; he hadn't brought her to completion._

"_I'm sorry. I promise it will be so much better next time," he whispered. _

"_It will? But that was so good," she said, slightly in awe._

_He chuckled, kissing her again._

"_You ain't seen nothin' yet, kid," he laughed._

"_So show me."_

_He grinned down at her, already getting hard again inside her._

"_Have my babies."_

"_I'll have ten of 'em," she smiled._

"_Promise?"_

"_Mmm," she answered._

"_Let's get married."_

"_Why?"_

"_So I can hold you to that. You _will_ have my babies, Keri."_

"_Yes."_

"_Yes what?"_

"_Yes, I'll marry you."_

It hadn't been a dream... He'd asked her to marry him... She'd said yes... _He'd asked her to have his babies..._

"Keri..." he tried again.

That last part sent him into a panic. He did _not_ want to marry Keri. He wanted to marry Maria. Eventually. What if she was sat there, watching this and thinking he'd meant it?

"It was you," she whispered.

"I was drunk... we both were," he started.

But the video wasn't finished. Still buried inside her, he'd started moving again. This had been another variation of his dream, making him wonder – since he'd dreamt of so many variations – just how many times he'd taken the innocent girl.

She came for him, unlike the first time, and he could feel the intensity even now.

Shit... The fuck had he done?

He'd got her pregnant??

"You wanted to get me pregnant?" she questioned.

"Like I said, we were both drunk," he said. "I didn't know what I was saying... about anything?"

Would she understand that he meant about the marriage as well?

She covered her face with her hands and let out a sigh.

"At least we know I wasn't raped," she said weakly.

No, she hadn't been raped. It had been evident that even then, they'd both been slaves to their bodies.

But how could she sound so calm about this?

"Tell me what you're thinking."

She shrugged, running her fingers through her hair.

"I'm feeling relieved."

"Why?!" he gasped.

His world had just crashed around him and the girl was feeling relieved? Maria would never take him back now...

"I've been going crazy wondering... all these faces in my head... so many different scenarios... At least now I know it was you, now I know exactly how it happened."

Yeah, it would probably be a big relief to the girl. But still...

"I didn't mean any of those things..." he blurted out.

Keri turned her head and eyed him. For a moment, he thought he'd hurt her badly but whatever he saw in those eyes disappeared before he could tell for sure.

"I didn't think you did. I'm good enough for you to fuck but not to carry your child."

His child...

Fuck!

"No, I didn't want you to be the mother of my child," he admitted hoarsely. "I just wanted... needed to fuck you."

He saw he gasp as if she'd hoped he'd contradict her, that he'd declare his undying love. But it would never happen like that. Never.

He didn't notice that his brother walked in and stopped dead in his tracks right by the door, his eyes glued on the screen. He didn't notice anything. His mind was whirling and he had an odd feeling in his body that made him wonder if real shock was setting in.

"What _the fuck_ is this?"

He turned his head, at the sound of his brother's voice. Matt's eyes were blazing furiously at him and he looked like he was having trouble restraining himself.

"Matt..." he started.

But what could he say? The disc was still playing the drunken homemade porn, getting louder and louder as they got closer to coming again.

"I saw the looks you were giving her but I didn't think you'd..." He pointed to the screen without looking at it when words failed him. "What the fuck were you thinking?"

He swallowed. Whatever answer he gave here, he knew it wouldn't end well for him.

"Answer me, damn it!" Matt growled angrily. "You took advantage of a drunk girl!"

"I was drunk, too__"

"You hold your liquor better than any-fucking-one," Matt snorted, indicating he thought his brother had known what he'd been doing all along.

"I don't remember anything about that night... at least, I didn't," he insisted.

"You don't remember sleeping with the girl you were hard for the whole fucking day?"

The words didn't seem right coming so calmly out of Matt's mouth. He knew from experience that this meant his brother was beyond angry. He swallowed again.

"If I'd been sober I'd never have touched her. You know that," he tried.

But that was a damn lie. He'd been waiting years for a chance to fuck her. He only hoped his brother wouldn't see through the bullshit.

But for some reason, what he said only made Matt angrier.

"Why? Tell me, Jeff. What about this beautiful woman do you find disagreeable? The fact that she was a virgin, that she was saving herself for her wedding night? The fact that she's the most loyal, caring woman you'll ever be lucky to meet? Huh?"

Matt sounded angrier with each sentence.

"Answer me, you shit," Matt snapped.

"I just... we don't like each other like that," he answered weakly.

"No? Well, I'm willing to bet that wasn't the only time. I've noticed some things lately; it's all starting to make sense. You've slept with her again. Am I right?"

His only answer was to swallow again. Lying would only get him a worse beating because Matt always seemed to know when he lied.

His brother was on him before he could think anything else. He was grabbed by the collar of his shirt by one hand while another nearly knocked his head off. His jaw hurt like fuck but he didn't retaliate. He'd known how Matt would react if he ever found out he'd slept with Keri. It would be worse now she was pregnant as well. He only hoped he wouldn't find out right that minute...

"I'm meant to protect her," Matt shouted, his face right in his. "I promised her she'd always be safe here. And all this time you've been fucking her?"

"Matt!" Keri shouted, speaking for the first time.

"I brought you into this family because I said I could protect you," Matt said, turning to look at Keri while his hand remained on his collar.

His head caught something in that sentence and he tried to focus. There seemed to be more going on there.

"Not now... please," Keri said. "We were both drunk, it's not Jeff's fault."

"He took advantage of you!" Matt said harshly. "I may not be able to kill your fucking uncle but I can kill this little shit."

What did he mean by that? What did her uncle have to do with anything?

"Matt, leave it. You promised. You swore to me," she said, and from the corner of his eye, he could tell how desperate she was for Matt to listen to her.

"I told you, you wouldn't have to put up with that shit here," Matt continued, "yet this guy – who for years has claimed to hate you – slept with you. I should have seen this coming."

He was aware that there was something in that sentence he needed to question but shock mixed with Matt's anger made thinking clearly impossible.

"Matt, please..." he started, but again he was at a loss as to what he should say.

Matt was telling the truth, after all. He'd taken advantage of Keri. His plan – before discovering he'd actually already slept with her after Matt's party, and how innocent she was, among all the other big shocks of the past few days – had been to just sleep with her and then forget her. He hadn't thought of the consequences, because he hadn't thought they would affect him.

"Pack your bags," Matt said roughly. "I'm too angry to look at you right now."

His brother was sending him away? He looked over at Keri and noticed she wasn't reacting to that news. Maybe it was a good idea. Time away would help him get this straight in his head.

"I can't deal with this anymore," Keri said as she finally stood and marched out of the room. She didn't meet his eyes a single time.

As soon as she was gone, Matt gripped him harder. His jaw was still throbbing from the one punch Matt had thrown.

"Listen here. I've had it with all the name calling, all the abuse you give her__"

"I haven't done that in a while___"

"And you think that erases all the years that you've done it? That girl is beautiful, inside and out, yet you treat her like shit. And the amazing thing is, she won't even let me set you straight – how I'd enjoy that!" Matt said angrily. "You think she's not good enough for you? I think she's better than you'll ever be. You took advantage of her while she's under my care. You need to get yourself out of my house."

"Matt, I need to think___"

"There's nothing to think about," Matt cut in.

Except that she was carrying his child.

His child...

Oh, God, his child... The little heartbeat... the little limbs... His child.

He looked at the doorway Keri had walked through, his heart beating faster as the shock wore off. His child. She was carrying his child.

"I'll do right by her," he whispered.

He'd do right by his child.

Matt let him go at that promise, but he could tell he was still very angry.

"I think you should leave right now. Stay at Dad's till your house is ready," Matt mumbled. "I really can't deal with you right now. I just... I really want to kill you."

With that, Matt was gone.

He sat in the same spot for a while, thinking. Or trying to think. It wasn't easy when he knew just how much he'd fucked up. But eventually he had to get up. He needed to pack a bag before Matt saw him again. There was no telling if he'd restrain himself a second time.

Had he told the rest of the guys? Were they talking out there about what a little shit he was for fucking their beloved friend? Where they plotting and planning on how best to make him pay?

He decided it was best he didn't stick around to find out. They'd all be as angry as Matt was. And they didn't have the bond of blood, they'd probably kick his ass till he was on the brink of death...

* * *

Matt walked out to his backyard to find Shane counting out some money into Kimo's, Yuk's and Shannon's outstretched hands as they stood by the barbeque.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Lost the bet," Shane shrugged.

"What bet?"

"The one we wouldn't make in front of you because you would have sabotaged it," Kimo chuckled.

"You bet they'd sleep together?!" he exclaimed with an angry frown.

"Oh, come on, Matt. You can't be that blind," Yuk said. "Surely you've noticed the way Jeff looks at her?"

"No, can't say I have," he said angrily, crossing his arms. "And if you shits saw it coming, you should have told me. I could have stopped it."

"Why? Keri's a grown woman. It was her choice to make," Kimo said.

Matt couldn't believe what he was hearing. All these fuckers were okay with Jeff sleeping with Keri? They should have been in there, beating the shit out of him!

"And to be fair, we did tell you what we thought about the whole 'Jeff and Keri fighting coz of sexual frustration' thing," Yuk grinned.

"She was supposed to be looking for the right guy."

"And who better than the only person who can keep her in line?" Shannon shrugged.

"They're right, Matt," Shane said. "Keri made her choice."

Maybe they were right. If they'd done it more than once, she'd probably been sober and willing a few of the times. But he was still too angry to think like that.

He was supposed to have protected her from such attentions. He'd promised she'd never have to suffer any man's unwanted attention like she'd had to endure as a child. He'd told her she'd be safe with him, safe from lying awake all night afraid her uncle would come into her room and force himself on her...

And he knew how his brother felt about her. This wasn't some fairy tale ending, like his friends were making it out to be. Jeff would only be after one thing.

"You really think this is a good thing?" he asked Shane.

"If they could go as far as this... maybe there's something there," Shane answered. "Only time will tell, I guess."

Matt shook his head angrily as he grabbed a beer. Was he the only one looking at this properly? Jeff had a girlfriend he was serious about, for one thing.

And his friends didn't know what they were talking about. Jeff and Keri together like that would never work.

"I just wish I hadn't seen it, though," Shannon said with a disgusted shudder.

"You walked out before anything happened," Shane pointed out. "You couldn't have seen anything. You didn't see that disgusting kiss with Jeff naked all over her."

"Yeah, but they did it in the kitchen after the party, where anybody could have seen them if they just happened to walk in..."

"You've known this for months?!" Matt bellowed.

"Then I got in on the bet the next day," Shannon grinned.

"I want my money back! You cheated!" Shane said.

Shannon just chuckled and grabbed a beer.

Matt shook his head and walked a little away from his friends so he could cool off. He'd have to speak to Keri, eventually, to find out what the hell she was thinking. If she could give her virginity away so easily... maybe she did feel something for Jeff.

His phone vibrated, alerting him of a new message. When he pulled it out of his pocket, he was shocked to discover it was from Vince.

"_Could you please have your friend Keri call me before the end of day tomorrow? I have a proposition for her, a chance for her to make a bit of money if she's interested."_

He frowned. A proposition? Was Vince going to offer her a job?

Would she have to be on the road with them? A couple of hours ago, he would have been happy for her. He'd be able to keep an eye on her and she'd be making money, win-win. But with the Jeff situation, he just wanted her back here. Safe. Away from the amorous attentions of his cheating scumbag of a brother.

* * *

Jeff was the father of her baby.

Jeff, who had admitted he didn't want her to be the mother of his child.

Jeff, who she'd hated so fucking much until a few days ago...

Keri sat on her bed, staring into space as she thought of what she'd leant only a few minutes ago. She had to admit, a big weight had been lifted off her shoulder because she knew how exactly she'd got pregnant, but she still didn't like the fact that she _was_ pregnant.

And she certainly didn't like the fact that she was carrying Jeff's child.

Would he still want her to keep it, now that he knew it was his? She doubted it. Jeff had always been full of bullshit. He probably wouldn't have stuck around long enough to help her anyway, if it had turned out that someone else had been the daddy. She was better off finding out now, when she could still do something about it...

But could she get rid of her child?

She cursed Jeff for making her watch the damned DVD. If she hadn't, she'd probably have been able to answer that question. There would have been no baby and this whole episode would become just a bad dream.

She threw herself back onto her pillows and sighed. She was avoiding thinking of other things, things she had no business having thought in the first place. But she knew she couldn't put it off.

Back at the party... she had to admit now that she'd felt some things for Jeff as the day wore on. She couldn't remember most of it but she knew that in the few occasions where she'd been only half drunk, she'd definitely thought how gorgeous Jeff looked. But she'd never thought she'd actually acted on those thoughts...

They'd got along like a house on fire that day. It had seemed odd, watching it back, but they'd actually seemed... happy.

But she knew that was only because of the drink. She hated Jeff, and he hated her more. Creating a child had been a big mistake. Regrettable, but it could be fixed. She would have to get rid of it.

But her heart constricted at the thought.

She wasn't carrying just Jeff's child. It was also Legends first grandchild. Matt's niece or nephew. If she was to have it, the kid would be well looked after, well loved. Hadn't she felt safest within this family than her own? Hadn't they shown her what a real family was about? Hadn't she spent her entire life searching for a man who could give her what she'd had with the Hardy family, the security, stability? If she was to keep the kid, it would know the same. It would have a stable life.

But it would always link her to Jeff.

The man who'd just said she wasn't fit to carry his child.

The man who'd hurt her by voicing those words, the words everyone always said to her; that she wasn't good enough.

She wasn't good enough for her family. Actually, she'd never even been safe with them, and Matt was the only one who knew.

She hadn't been good enough for her ex-boyfriends, who'd run instead of sticking around to see if she could like them enough to settle down with them. They'd all always pressured her into agreeing to sex before she was ready, and the result had always been the same; she'd freeze up before they could actually stick their dicks in her. But she'd always believed if they just waited, gave her a bit of time to come around... of course, none of them ever did.

She'd never been good enough for the Hardy family, no matter how much they told her she was. She came with too much baggage while they were all angels. Except Jeff, of course.

She'd never been good enough for her friends for the same reason.

And now the man she hated just said she wasn't good enough for him, either.

She was good enough to sleep with. Over and over again. But that was all. No happy-ever-after for her. No marriage and a promise to love and cherish always.

She chuckled at the irony as she turned her head into her pillow, stemming the tears she hadn't known were falling. She'd tried to avoid turning out like her mother, but that was exactly what Jeff had made her do. He'd made her a whore. He'd made her a slave to her body even though she'd known there was no love between them. He'd taken the one thing she'd wanted to give to her husband, to make their union more special. And now she had his unwanted baby. Could she love a baby from a man she hated? She didn't see that working, no matter what Jeff had said before. After all, didn't she know better than anyone that a blood bond meant nothing?

Her phone vibrated and she pulled it out of her pocket. She hadn't looked at it much since the whole 'I'm pregnant-who's the daddy' thing started but she knew she'd had quite a few missed calls and messages.

A little smile broke her lips when she noticed a message.

"_I really don't like being ignored! That never happens to me, I am The Great One! Call me, am worried about you. Plus I want to ask you to come on the road again this week. I need a date for the Hall of Fame ceremony."_

Well, at least someone was thinking of her. Though the last place she wanted to be was back on the road, so close to Jeff.

There was a slight knock on her door, then Jeff walked in without waiting for an answer. His lip was cut from where Matt had hit him. In her opinion, the guy had got off entirely too easily. Matt should have kicked his ass good.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

She knew he could tell she'd been crying but she couldn't give a shit.

"I'm going to Dad's now," Jeff said.

"So?"

"Um... I just... we need to talk about this before I go back on the road."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"You're carrying my child___"

"Not for long," she muttered as she got off the bed.

"What?! Don't I have a say in this?"

"I think you've said enough."

"Please don't do this. I'll take care of him, just like I promised. And since I'm giving up the WWE for a while, I could have him with me if it's too much for you."

"You mean you'll take the baby from me?" she asked. "You're unbelievable, Jeff."

Yes, let's cut all ties from the useless mother. After all, we're better than her...

"I didn't mean it like that. I just meant___"

"Go. I've had enough of you," she cut in. "I'm not having your baby because the thought of your sperm growing in me makes me sick."

There. She could be as nasty as he was. If he thought she'd go along with his plans when he'd said she wasn't good enough for him...

"I know that. I know this isn't an ideal situation," Jeff said, running his hand through his hair as he came closer to her. "Matt and Shane told me before that you were looking for the right guy to give your virginity to and build something special with and I've... I've taken that from you."

He'd taken a whole lot more... her dreams, her hopes... but she wasn't going to tell him that.

"So you see why I'm not having your baby? No guy is going to want to be lumbered with someone else child, and I don't intend this mistake to ruin my whole life."

"Keri___"

"Go. Hopefully I'll never see you again."

With this she walked into her bathroom and slammed the door, letting out a shaky breath of relief when he didn't follow her.

If he had, if he'd decided to use sex to make her compliant, then she'd have been screwed for sure. Because she couldn't deny that, even after the events of the past hour, her body had reacted to Jeff the same way it had before. The moment he'd walked into the room she'd seen his naked body on hers... his lips on her naughty places...

But she had to stop thinking like this. She had to be strong. Jeff Hardy wasn't going to touch her again. Ever.

* * *

**AN/ No, no no, it's far from over... muahahahaha!**

**Jeff said something stupid (even if it's true- he **_**did**_** only want a fuck) and he's going to pay for it! Matt is the only one bothered that Jeff is fucking Keri. He almost revealed Keri's secret and planted seeds in Jeff's head. Vince has a proposition. And Randy's looking for a date. **

**Will they react differently when they find out she's actually pregnant? Or will Keri decide not to keep it, thus making the question void?**

**Next chapter of Amazing Grace just needs to be polished up. I'd say gimme a day.**

**And as always, thank you for your reviews. **


	19. Chapter 19

Jeff sat at a table in the back of the hotel bar with a hardly-touched beer cradled in his hands. Lost in his thoughts, he'd been nursing the same one for about an hour – since Maria had said what she needed to say and left him there, actually.

It was official. He was now a single man.

A single man with a baby on the way – maybe – from a woman he'd just discovered he didn't really know yet she drove him crazy with lust.

And on top of that, he was a man avoiding his family and best friends – because he really didn't want to die.

For the first time in a long time, he'd travelled by himself – he'd snuck out and caught a really early flight out to Houston. His dad hadn't asked questions when he'd turned up at the family home and he'd hardly left his room anyway to make any conversations. What was he supposed to have said?

'_I slept with Keri. I took her virginity and I've dreamt about it for months, only I thought it was just a dream. Lately, I've been fucking her any chance I get. And I want to do it again and again and again, till I'm tired of her. But that's as far as I'm willing to go. Nothing serious. And oh, yeah, she's pregnant.'_

Somehow he didn't think that would have gone down too well with Legend. He was more protective of Keri than Matt was, and that was saying something!

He sighed and looked around the bar. There was hardly anyone there since it was still morning. He knew Matt and Shane's travel plans, they wouldn't check in for another hour at least, so he had until then to disappear to his room.

His mind went back to his earlier meeting with Maria. The second she'd walked in, guilt had eaten him up, making him admit again that he didn't deserve her. He'd known he had to come clean about everything and he'd known she'd leave him. It served him right.

"_What's going on, Jeff?" she asked as soon as she sat down._

_He noticed he didn't even get the usual kiss on the cheek, and her eyes were dead, like she knew what was coming._

_He bit his lip, wondering where to start. _

"_I need to tell you something. But I need you to know that I really do love you, and I'm hoping we can somehow work past this because I can't see myself without you."_

_He could hope, couldn't he?_

"_Just tell me what you did, Jeff."_

_For once, Maria wasn't smiling. It didn't suit her. She was supposed to be perky and laughing all the time._

"_I don't want to hurt you___"_

_Her cynical laugh cut him off. This was another surprising thing. Maria didn't do cynicism. _

"_Ria... I...."_

_How did he tell the woman he wanted to eventually grow old with that he'd cheated on her? And was it fair to ask for another chance when he knew, given half a chance, he'd cheat on her again? And of course, there was the matter of the baby he'd fathered..._

"_Let me save you the trouble," Maria said as the bartender set a straight whiskey in front of her. "You cheated on me. All morning last Tuesday. And since you went home with the girl, I'm guessing you've been sleeping with her since."_

_He frowned. How the hell had she known that?_

"_I was next door," she said, as if he'd spoken aloud. _

_Fuck... She'd known all along._

_She chuckled mirthlessly as she drowned her drink in one go._

"_Oh yes. I heard her scream your name. I heard the things you said to her. 'I love how you feel on my dick, baby.' 'You're so tight, baby' 'You're the best I've ever had, baby.'"_

_Shit... He wasn't normally a vocal lover, but with Keri..._

"_Ria, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen. It just___"_

"_Save it, Hardy. I guess I should have seen it coming. The whole time we've been together, most of our conversations centred on Keri; what trouble she got herself into, you bailing her out, you worrying if she took too long to get in touch. Any idiot could have seen how you felt about her."_

"_It wasn't like that. She just means a lot to the family, but I'm the only one she comes to when she's in trouble. It doesn't mean I have feelings for her."_

"_So you ruined our relationship over something that didn't mean anything?"_

_Shit._

"_Ria... I'm so sorry," he sighed. "I don't know where my head is at the moment. I'm sorry you found out the way you did. I'm sorry I hurt you. I really didn't want to let you go, but I know it's unreasonable to expect you to forgive me."_

"_Very unreasonable," Maria said. _

"_Maybe one day___"_

"_Never," Maria said as she got up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other things to do. Hope she was worth it, Jeff."_

It really _had_ been unreasonable to expect her to stay with him, even if there wasn't the issue of a baby on the way. He'd proved he was unreliable and a cheat. What woman wanted those qualities in a man?

Plus, it was completely unfair. Keri was very much still in his system, and if he somehow managed to get her out, they had the baby linking them forever. If she kept it.

Damn woman.

Why didn't he have a say in this? The baby was his, too. He'd wanted it even before they'd known it was his and now...

So he'd said some unfortunate things, but he'd only said the truth, hadn't he? His first reaction was to try and block the truth out, but as soon as the shock had worn off, he'd wanted that baby more than anything. She didn't want his child anymore than he wanted her to be the mother of his child, but that was a moot point now. The baby was already growing inside her.

If she went ahead and aborted it before they'd had a chance to speak... He'd kill her.

Just as he thought this, he heard a laugh that he would have known from anywhere. Shocked, he watched Keri walk into the bar, her arm linked with Randy's. What the hell was she doing here?

She was wearing a short skirt and sandals in deference to the hot Texan weather and a simple t-shirt but he thought she still looked hot. Hell, she looked good in anything. She'd left her long, silky hair loose, and that coupled with the silky legs she had on show sent his mind straight to the gutter, even though he knew no good could come from that. He wanted nothing better than to wrap those legs around his neck while he pounded into her... And he wanted to hear her scream his name... But there was too much going on for him to even think like that. For one thing, Matt was expecting him to make this situation go away.

She smiled up at Randy and he found himself wishing she'd smile at him like that. They'd had a pretty emotional few days, but even with the shock of discovering he'd taken her virginity and planted his sperm in her, he wanted to believe they could at least get along better than they had before.

For the sake of the baby, of course.

Unless she was planning on moving on to the next guy.

Oh God, were they back to this? Was she still trying to get with Randy, even with everything that had happened? She was carrying his child, for fuck's sake!

He watched them look around as if they were looking for someone then walked out again. They hadn't seen him.

He quickly got to his feet and followed. He needed some answers.

"Keri," he called.

He caught up with them at the elevators and noticed Keri seemed to be holding onto Randy a bit too tight. Too tight for his liking. Dammit.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, completely ignoring Randy. "With everything that happened, I thought you'd stay home."

"Vince wants to see me," Keri shrugged. "Not that it's any of your business."

Why would Vince want to see Keri?

"What did you do?" he asked.

"Nothing. Why do you always assume the worst?"

She was right. Assuming the worst where Keri was concerned was what had got him into trouble in the first place.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Matt and Shane here, too?"

"Yeah."

The doors opened and he shocked himself by walking in with them. He should have been going the opposite way, as far away from Keri as he could until he had his head sorted right.

"Um... we need to talk. Can you spare a few minutes?" he asked.

She'd intentionally moved so Randy stood between them, and because the guy was big, he couldn't see her at all. He scowled at the thought of Keri thinking she could use another man to keep him away. Because he didn't doubt that was what she was doing. Holding onto Randy like that, hiding behind him; she was trying to avoid talking.

"No."

"Keri, don't be like this."

"I'm going to hang out with Randy. I really don't need your drama right now."

"You have to talk to me sooner or later."

"No, I don't."

"Don't be so immature. You know you have to."

"And I said I don't. Not if you want to talk about that little... problem," Keri said. "I had it sorted yesterday."

What?! If she meant what he thought she did...

He quickly moved around Randy so he could look at her face, knowing she'd never been able to lie to him before.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" he asked calmly.

He wouldn't get angry. Keri wouldn't have got rid of the baby without talking to him first. She wouldn't.

"Just what I said. There's no longer anything forcing us together. I can go on with my life now."

She looked him in the eyes as she said this and he felt a sharp pain stab him in the chest. She was telling the truth...

"You killed my baby," he said harshly, taking a step forward.

Keri flinched but said nothing else. She took a step back, though. She looked scared but he didn't give a shit. She had no right to do what she'd done.

"You fucking _killed_ my defenceless baby!" he shouted, his pain giving way to searing hot anger. "How could you do that? That was _my_ baby."

"Well, I didn't ask for it. I didn't want it," she snapped. "When I _do_ have a baby, it won't be from a man like you, I can assure you of that."

How could she be so evil? He'd thought he knew her a little bit now, he'd thought something like this was beyond her...

"Maybe it's just as well," he said angrily. "You'd have made a shit mother."

He saw the colour leave her face and chuckled humourlessly.

"A god-awful, rubbish mother. You were right about that one. You'd have taught my child to steal for a living. Or maybe even to stand on a street corner like her grandma. Or to deal drugs. Or maybe my baby would have turned out as fucked up as you are; pathetically searching for love because everywhere you go everyone can see you're just not worth it. How can you teach a child to do good when you don't know the meaning of the word?" he continued, ignoring the gasps that came from her mouth. "And I hope you get punished, I hope you never get another chance to be a mother."

"That's enough, Jeff."

He looked at the man who'd finally decided to speak.

"You stay the fuck out of this, it's got nothing to do with you," he hissed.

But Randy pulled Keri so she was behind him, his eyes daring him to make a move.

"Or maybe it _does_ have something to do with you," he chuckled. "Did she get rid of my child, hoping to get with you? Did she hope you'd stop whoring around and settle down with her, be her 'Mr. Right'? Or did you put her up to this because you were jealous I got to fuck her first? Well, you can have her. No matter how good she is in bed, she's not worth it. But you'll see that for yourself, once you've fucked her, too. She's no good for anything else."

"You've said enough Jeff," Randy said as the elevator doors opened.

"This ain't over," he said as he watched Randy bustle Keri out of the elevator. "Not by a long shot."

When the doors closed, he felt the anger drain out of him to be replaced by the sharp pain tearing through him again. His baby... She'd taken his baby from him.

When the elevator opened on his floor he walked lifelessly to his room. He'd got attached to the baby even before he knew it was his, and now he had to get used to the fact that he wasn't about to be a father.

In the space of one morning, he'd lost the love of his life and his baby. And because she'd killed his baby, he'd lost Keri, too. He was never going to allow himself to want her again.

He was hurting. He was hurting real bad.

* * *

Keri let Randy sit her on the couch before he headed to the fridge to pull a bottle of water out for her. She'd known Jeff would get angry but she hadn't expected that he'd be so hateful. All the things he'd said... the very things she thought about herself...

"Here."

She took the glass of water that Randy offered with a shaky hand.

"He was upset. He probably didn't mean what he said," Randy said softly when she'd finally put the glass down.

She shook her head.

"You don't know him like I do. He meant every word," she whispered.

"Then he wasn't good enough for you in the first place," Randy said, kneeling in front of her and taking her hands. "Don't believe all that shit. I think you'll make a great mother."

"How can you say that? You don't know me."

"Maybe not yet. But I like what I know already," Randy shrugged.

"You're just saying that so I don't bail on you on Saturday," she said with a weak smile.

"No I'm not. And if you don't feel like going with me to the Ceremony I completely understand," Randy said. "You've had quiet an eventful few days."

It had been surprisingly easy to reveal everything to Randy when she'd called him the night Jeff had left. They'd talked for hours and he hadn't judged her a single time.

"I'll go with you. I don't go back on my word."

"And if Jeff knew you as well as you say he does, he'd know that," Randy pointed out. "You shouldn't let him walk all over you like that. Get angry, not upset. You know you're not what he says you are."

Wasn't she?

"Yeah, but it never does any good arguing with Jeff," she said instead.

"Well, I'd say you have one big argument coming your way after what you've done."

"I had to. It's the only way."

"I don't know about that," Randy said.

"It is, trust me," she sighed.

"If you say so," Randy shrugged. "Come on. I say we find John, Cody and Ted and get on with our plans so you can get what happened out of your head. We might not get to hang out so much coz it's Wrestlemania week. We've got appearances and signings all week, and Fan Axxess starts the day after tomorrow. "

"Okay," she sighed.

"One question, though. _Why_ did you say what you said? Jeff's a good enough guy, he'll stick by you."

Yes, he would have, just like he'd promised. But he'd still think she wasn't good enough to bear his child. He'd said things that were unforgivable before, and he'd added on to that by saying those hateful things in the elevator. She didn't need that. She didn't need him.

She sighed as her hand went to her still flat stomach.

No, she didn't need Jeff.

"I don't want anybody sticking by me because they have to. I want someone to want me for me. I just haven't found him yet. Nobody wants me."

"Now that's total bullshit. I have trouble believing no man wants you in their lives for good. I think it's the other way round; _you_ don't want anybody."

"Of course I do! I don't want to end up alone."

"Yet when I offered myself on a silver platter you couldn't go through with it," Randy pointed out then added, with his sexy smirk, "I get being picky. I mean, I am, too. You have to be incredibly hot to get with this. But rejecting the Lady Thriller is unheard off!"

She punched him playfully in the arm, a little smile playing on her lips at his words.

"That doesn't mean anything. Sex is a big deal for me," she revealed.

"Except, apparently, when you have it with Jeff," he chuckled.

"That's not funny."

"Sorry. I just think it's stupid that you two can't see what I see. I saw it the very first time we met."

"I'm not even going to ask you what you see, because I already know it's bullshit," she said as she stood up. "Now come on. I have to meet with Vince soon; I'd like to get my mind off this shit first so I don't make a fool of myself."

"I have to warn you, though. If I see Matt or Shane I'm running."

"Why?"

"Everyone's talking about what a good time we had in your room before I checked out of the hotel. Apparently, I made you scream the place down. Your two protectors must have heard it by now. I don't mind dying for something I did, but in this case, you're on your own babe."

She blushed when he reminded her that everyone knew she'd been well and truly fucked, literally. But they assumed she'd been with Randy, since she'd been all friendly with him all night at the club. It had been the first thing Randy had mentioned when she'd met up with him, and it explained the sly looks she'd got from everyone else.

"I'm sorry. I'll tell them it wasn't you," she offered.

She was pretty sure they'd know it was Jeff, anyway. She hadn't been able to look anyone in the eyes since watching that DVD and Matt had been angry since. He thought he'd failed her, and that couldn't be further from the truth. But she was still too embarrassed to talk to him, so she hadn't reassured him about that.

"What?! Everyone thinks I'm a fucking animal in the sack. Why would you take that away from me?" he chuckled as he led her out of his room.

* * *

**AN/ So Randy's back and he's just put himself in the middle of a whole lot of drama... Jeff's single, hurting and really nasty. Keri thinks what she's done is the only way, but what **_**has**_** she done?**

**Thanks for your reviews, alerts and favs. Much appreciated. I have 8 weeks till I pop, I'm hoping, really hoping, I can get this done before my daughter arrives to fuck up my schedule a lot more... lol.**

**Hope you enjoyed this.**

**Much love.**


	20. Chapter 20

"All I'm saying is, with the way Jeff used to act around her, it all makes sense. He's obviously had feelings for her for a while."

Matt grunted in disbelief as they rode the elevator downstairs. He couldn't believe that his friends had spent the best part of two days telling him that Jeff and Keri together was a good thing. Shane, of all those people, should have been on his side. He was the one who'd been so proud that Keri was – had been - still a virgin, going as far as to give her that pet name. Now they'd learnt Jeff had taken advantage of her and all they could do was shrug and say they'd seen it coming.

"The guy hates her, so yes he's got _feelings_ for her! He obviously only wants one thing from her," he snapped.

"Keri's managed to take care of herself all these years. If she hadn't wanted to do that, she wouldn't have."

"She was drunk!" he reminded him.

"She's always drunk! Yet she still managed to hold on to her virginity for so long," Shane argued.

"You know how Jeff is when he decides he wants something. The poor girl had no chance."

"And all her other boyfriends haven't been as eager? Face it, Matt. She wanted Jeff. For all their bullshit about hating each other, he's always been the one she turned to for anything."

"And Jeff was never supposed to take it any further than that. It was bad enough watching them fight like that but standing by and watching him take her for a ride..."

"I don't think he's taking her for a ride. Maybe he can't help himself around her. Maybe he's in love with her and doesn't know how to deal with it. But I'm guessing, given time, he's going to realise all of this and be the man Keri's been looking for all these years."

"He's a liar and a cheat. I don't even know how I'm going to act around Ria, knowing what we know."

"You know Jeff is none of those things! You know he detests cheating. You know he couldn't lie to save his life. So what he did... it's got to mean something, right? I mean, you said he and Keri have... well, they've done stuff since the party. If Keri didn't mean anything to him, if that party was just a drunken mistake, do you think Jeff would have cheated on Maria again?"

"You don't know what you're talking about," Matt grunted as the elevator opened into the lobby.

"No, _you_ don't know what you're talking about. She chose Jeff, and I think it's an excellent choice. You should, too," Shane snapped. "Unless you want her to choose Randy."

Matt followed Shane's gaze and saw Keri whispering something in Randy's ear as they sat in a couch at the far end of the lobby. Randy laughed loudly and brought his arm around her in a proprietary manor that had Matt's teeth grinding together in anger.

"Jeff's always taken care of her, even when he said he hated her. Imagine what he'll be like when they're together. She couldn't be in safer hands," Shane pointed out. "Plus this way, if he messes up, we can always beat the shit out of him to set him straight. Do you think it'll be that easy with Orton?"

"We're jumping the gun, here. One, we don't know what the hell is going on between Jeff and Keri. It's all speculation, since neither of them has explained anything. Two, she might not like Randy like that, and if she does, I doubt he's the type to wait till his wedding night," he said, then added bitterly, "If Jeff hasn't corrupted her too much that she's forgotten what was important to her before."

"Jeff hasn't corrupted her," Shane sighed, still watching as Cena, Ted and Cody joined Randy and Keri and greeted her noisily before they headed out of the hotel, past a few waiting fans to a waiting car. "I think we should just butt out and let them sort it out themselves."

Matt shook his head. Not for the first time, he contemplated telling Shane the truth about why he'd made Keri live with them in the first place. But it wasn't his secret to tell.

"Does butting out mean we have to watch her with Randy?" he sighed.

"Yes," Shane smiled. "As long as we make sure Jeff knows about them, of course."

"Of course," he chuckled, because that was how they always got unsavoury suitors off Keri's back – Jeff always scared them off.

Maybe Shane _did_ have a point. Would it be so bad for his friend and the brother he loved so much to get together?

Well, the jury was still out on that one. He'd have to talk rationally with both of them first.

* * *

Jeff's phone buzzing woke him up that afternoon. He wasn't as rested as he had hoped because somehow, a new element had been added to his dreams; Keri in his bed in her sleeping t-shirt, her hair messy and her eyes looking up at him as if he were a god. And a tiny little baby in her arms, his baby.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

Grabbing his phone, he noticed he still had at least twenty minutes before the alarm was supposed to sound, but he pushed himself up, knowing he wasn't going to sleep again with all the anger he felt. Anger and potent desire rolled in one.

With a sigh, he looked down at the messages that had woken him. The first was from Vickie, the Smackdown GM, informing him of a meeting at three. He was shocked when he noticed the second one was from Matt. He'd thought his brother would need at least a week before he willingly contacted him.

_Last minute meeting at the arena. Vince wants to see you. Bring Keri with you, room 708; Vince wants her here too. Would have done it myself but Shane and I are already here. If you let Randy bring her, that's one more thing I'll skin you for._

He frowned. So the only reason Matt was asking him to do this was to keep the witch away from Randy? He didn't give a shit about that anymore! But how would he get out of this without revealing he'd knocked Keri up and then she'd gone and killed his baby? Matt would only blame him. He would think he must have done something really bad to warrant this extreme behaviour from Keri. He'd take Keri's side like he always did. Noone would actually see that she had hurt him bad, too. But if she showed up with Randy, it would take a very long time for Matt to forgive him.

So his only choice was to give that bitch a ride.

He got off the bed and had a quick shower to freshen up and relieve some of the tiredness he still felt before changing into fresh clothes. He packed his wrestling gear because they had a show to tape in a few hours and he didn't want to come back to the hotel after the meeting. Then he walked to Keri's room, three floors down from his, to tell her what Matt had said.

Hopefully, she was there and not in Randy's room. Hopefully she hadn't spent the rest of the day in that man's bed.

He stopped himself thinking like this. He didn't care anymore. If she wanted to fuck the whole company, then they were welcome to her!

Keri answered the door with a smile on her face, but it disappeared quickly. Anger fought with desire, but the anger won. The bitch had killed his baby. He shouldn't still want to dick her.

"What do you want?" she snapped, one hand on her hip, defining the already highly defined dip of her waist.

She'd changed into tiny denim cut-offs and a little wife beater, maybe after a shower. With Randy. After spending the morning in his bed.

Dammit!

He had to stop.

"Matt wants you to come down to the arena with me. We have a meeting and Vince wants you there," he answered.

"I can make my own fucking way there."

"And I wish you would," he growled. "But Matt asked me to, so I'll do it. You might not care about how other people feel, but I do. My brother wants you safe with me, and until he's speaking to me again, I intend to do what he wants."

"Safe?" Keri chuckled.

"Yeah. Safe. I don't give a shit about you anymore. So I won't pounce on you, trust me."

He saw the look that crossed her eyes, like he'd hurt her feelings. The hell was she hurt for? She was the one who'd killed his baby. She'd brought it on herself.

"I'll catch a taxi or call Randy___"

She'd been about to slam the door in his face but he stopped her.

"Get your shit," he growled. "You're coming with me."

The look he gave her made her shrink back into her room to silently do as he'd ordered. Keri never contradicted him when he was really angry and this time was no different. He knew she could see how pissed off he was, and maybe was wondering if she'd pushed him a bit too far this time, if he'd hurt her physically.

He wanted nothing better. But he still couldn't - _wouldn't - _raise his hand to a woman.

"Hurry the fuck up."

* * *

"So do you think she'll do it?"

Matt looked at Shane briefly and shrugged his shoulders.

"Their relationship is... rocky, sir. I doubt she'd be thrilled," he answered honestly. "And Jeff definitely won't like it."

Or maybe he would. It was hard to tell now where Jeff and Keri stood. Did they still hate each other? Were they in a relationship? Or was Jeff just fucking her?

"I'm counting on that. They'll make good TV. And besides, it won't be for long. With the Hardy feud coming to an end, she'd be the perfect person to end it and it'll introduce her to Jeff's fans for what I really want her to do for me," Vince said from his place at the head of the conference table.

"But you don't know anything about her, sir," he tried again, even though he knew he was grasping at straws. "She might... do a lot of damage."

"I don't need to know her. And I really don't care. I've hired ex-cons. I'm sure whatever baggage she has won't really matter."

He frowned as he looked at Shane again. Sure, he wanted Keri to have a job, and this one would be perfect as it would allow him to keep an eye on her. But her and Jeff together? It would cause too many problems, even if they were somewhat getting along these days. And he wasn't so sure if she would actually be able to hold the job down, anyway. Rules and schedules weren't exactly her thing.

The second Vince had brought this conversation round to Jeff and Keri he had immediately understood why he had been eager to allow her backstage in the first place that first time he'd brought Keri on the road. But why? He'd seen her for, what, two seconds? And he hadn't even actually spoken to her.

"The arguments sometimes get a bit... out of hand," he said.

The last thing he wanted to do was discuss his family in front of all these people – Vince had called a meeting for everyone fighting at Wrstlemania or taking part in the week-long events leading to it, and it had pleased him that Randy was already there so couldn't have given Keri a ride anyway - but Vince was giving him no option.

"What's your problem, Matthew? People kill for a chance like this," Vince frowned.

"I know."

He had no excuses left.

"And I wasn't asking for your permission. She can decide for herself when she gets here. I only asked if you think she'll do it, and you still haven't really answered that question."

"It depends, sir. If Jeff is dead set against the idea, it pretty much guarantees she'll say yes, even if she doesn't like it."

"And how does one go about making sure Jeff is 'dead set' against this idea?"

He bit his lip against a sigh. Vince was putting him in a very tight spot.

* * *

"I still don't see why I have to be here now. My appointment with Vince isn't for another hour."

"Will you just shut the fuck up already!" he snapped. "I don't want you here either, but there's nothing we can do about it. Maybe you fucked up like you always do and Vince wants to ban you from his business. I don't know how that mind works sometimes, it's like you actually need me to stop you doing stupid things."

"I don't need you. Stop treating me like I'm a child," Keri snapped back.

"I will when you stop behaving like one. Now _get out of the fucking car_," he said angrily.

The half hour ride to the arena where Smackdown was being taped that night had been hell on his nerves. They hadn't spoken; he wouldn't have been able to handle it if she'd tried to speak to him. He was too angry with her for idle talk when they had this issue hanging over their heads. Plus there was the sexual arousal he always had to fight whenever she was near him. It made him angrier that he still wanted her.

After locking the rental, he led the way into the arena. They were running a little late, the meeting was supposed to have started ten minutes back, so he wasn't surprised he couldn't see any of his fellow colleagues waiting around like they normally would have been.

But there were quite a few of the crew hanging around, and a lot of them where looking at Keri like she was some sort of meat.

Since he hadn't given her time to change, she was still wearing the denim shorts that were too short for his liking and the wife beater that showed clearly the size and firmness of her delicious breasts. It was an innocent enough outfit, he supposed, and because it was so hot, almost everyone else was dressed in a similar fashion. But on Keri it looked completely indecent. It made him wish he had a time machine so he could go back to relive the past few days, when he'd sunk into her beautiful flesh. Then he was disgusted with himself for thinking like that again because he was supposed to be angry with her.

He looked down at her face quickly and saw the scowl on it, directed at him. She didn't even notice the attention she was getting. The little bitch was probably used to it. Oh, yes she was. How could he have forgotten how she'd depended on men lusting after her naked body to pay her bills? Would she go back to that job now? She probably would. She had nothing stopping her. No baby growing in her belly...

This thought made him a little bit angrier. Scowling as well, he looked away from her back to the gawking idiots, the sort of men who'd have gladly stuffed money down her panties to cop a feel. He couldn't help growling at them, making them quickly turn back to what they'd been doing.

"You're a nasty, nasty man," Keri said beside him. "What the hell did they do to you? Do you just go around bullying everyone?"

"I don't bully anyone!" he exclaimed.

"Of course you do. You bully me."

"I simply show you the right thing to do. I wouldn't need to if you weren't such a selfish bitch with a thick skull!"

"Who made you my boss? I don't need you to do that for me, I'm more than capable of taking care of myself."

He laughed at this. Yeah, she took care of herself so good that she'd got plastered and slept with a guy she hated. And got pregnant on top of that.

"It's not funny," Keri said through grit teeth as they wove their way down the hallways of the arena. "I _can_ take care of myself. If you didn't have this God complex you'd see that."

"Sure," he said, laughing again, because it was better to laugh than to show his weakness by crying over what she'd done.

"I've been doing alright the last few months without you, haven't I?"

"Oh, yeah. Your new _job_. Stripping," he laughed.

"I _have_ been working. I _have_ been paying my bills and taking care of myself. I don't need you."

"And I don't need _you_. But you had a life inside of you that needed you," he growled.

And just like that, he hated her all over again. She clamped her mouth shut, making him wish he could just grab her and shake her. What the hell had she been thinking, making the decision by herself? Was it not affecting her at all? How could she go on as normal when all he wanted to do was crawl into bed and cry for what could have been? He'd spent the past two nights imagining what his daughter would look like – he knew it'd have been a girl, with Keri's big eyes and her hair...

"You know what? Forget it," he growled. "Like I said before, you did me a favour."

"You're the only one who sees me as this big, bad person so I'm not even going to worry about what you think. Never did before, not going to start now."

Of course, with what she'd done he wasn't willing to remember how his opinion of her had changed over the last few days, not right now. He didn't want to remember that her pride didn't let her take money she hadn't earned, even if she earned it through foul means. He didn't want to remember that everything she made, she used it to put her cousin through school. He didn't want to remember that her family had screwed her up so bad that she had no self esteem, no sense of self-worth. He didn't want to remember that the girl had been innocent until he'd had his way with her.

"Who likes you? Matt? Face it, Keri. If it weren't for me, Matt wouldn't still look at you the same_. I've_ kept those rose tinted glasses on him for you," he growled. "He'd have washed his hands of you a long time ago, otherwise."

"Matt knows me better than you think," she said, but he could tell he'd got to her. "Even better than you _think_ you know me. He'd never turn his back on me."

"Well, want to test that theory? Shall we tell him how many times I had to drive hundreds of miles just to bail you out of jail__?"

"I was set up."

"Grand theft auto?"

"You would never have known it was me if you hadn't seen me."

"Okay, then how about we tell him how you came to be hooked on drugs in the first place?"

She had no excuse for that one. Even if she'd done everything else to aid Ronnie's studies, she had no excuse for the way she'd become hooked on her own supply.

"I hate you," she whispered to him instead.

"Good," he growled, as he turned down yet another almost deserted hallway. "I hate you, too."

"No, I really, _really_ hate you. From this point on, you no longer exist. You're dead to me," she spat out angrily. "I never want to see you again."

"I couldn't give a fuck."

"I'll tell everyone what a prick you really are and you'll be dead to them, too."

"And I'm sure they wouldn't give a fuck, either," he laughed.

He knew that wasn't true, though. If she told his friends and family what he'd done to her, especially forcing himself on her, they really would kill him. They'd take her side. But he wasn't about to show his insecurities about this to Keri.

"Die," she muttered.

"How about we do this instead? When you're gagging on Orton's balls, I want you to bite down so _he_ can die," he snapped.

"I bet you wish I would gag on yours instead, you dick," she sneered. "Yeah, I said it. You think I didn't hear the things you said to me while you were fucking me, Nero? You love the feel of my pussy on you? You love how I taste? You've never had it so good? Well, you're never having it again!"

This is when it stopped being funny. It actually made him angry that she could throw the way his body betrayed him in his face now of all times, when he was already hurting. Being so exposed wasn't a good feeling. He really wished he'd stuck to his original plan – fuck and run. In the end he'd been gentle with her; he'd enjoyed coaxing new reactions out of her. He'd made love to her, full stop. And what had it got him?

He threw open the first door he got to and backed inside, roughly pulling her with him before slamming it closed and pushing her against it. Keri wasn't even the least bit surprised. Or scared. It was like they had their old hate-hate relationship back.

"Don't," he warned, his face inches from hers. "Don't you dare talk about that again."

It galled him, just how much he had to fight with himself to stop from pushing himself just another inch forward so he could feel her body.

"You can't tell me what to do. I'm sick of it," she snapped back. "Like I just said, you're dead to me. I want nothing to do with you ever again."

"Good. I loathe you, anyway, with every fibre of my being. You're a nasty bitch. Whatever good I saw in you the last few days, you made sure you destroyed that by..." he growled, his voice trailing off when he couldn't bring himself to talk about his unborn child.

_Great! Show her how much she hurt you. Give her something to laugh about._

"You know what?" he sighed, pulling back a little. "You're not even worth this. You and your dramatics can just fuck off."

"What's the matter? We can talk about me the whole day but when we say something about you, you don't want to hear it?" she asked angrily.

"The only reason I talk to you in the first place is because you're a dizzy fucking bitch who needs direction. Thank God you're not my problem anymore, right? Go ahead. Go get yourself in trouble. I'm done with you."

He was _so_ done with her. The sexual thing... it could just go away. Things had changed now; he didn't think he'd ever be able to look at her again without remembering what she'd done.

"Call me bitch one more time," she snarled.

She was really angry, he could tell. But why? She gone ahead and done exactly as she wanted. Her life was back in order. She could keep looking for that 'Mr. Right' now, as if his baby had never existed; as if they hadn't had such explosive fire when they'd touched. Yes, they were back to the way it had been.

Her hazel eyes were near enough burning him now as she shot him her famous evil eye. He'd seen her cut down men twice his size with that look alone. But he'd never been afraid of it. She was five feet two, the fuck could she do?

He leaned his face closer to hers again and whispered, "Bitch."

Her little punch caught him square in the jaw and it hurt like hell. He swore only once before moving his face close to hers again.

"If you _ever_ do that again___" he growled.

"You'll what?" she smirked, a little triumphant smile on her lips now.

"Do it again and see."

He hadn't meant there and then, obviously, so the next punch caught him completely by surprise. And it hurt just as much as the first one.

Without giving her a chance to do or say any more, he pushed his body into hers against the door and crushed his lips against hers.

It was meant to be punishing. It was meant to hurt her. But the moment his lips touched hers, he started kissing her for an entirely different reason. Was it only a couple of days ago that he'd touched her? Kissed her for the first time? It felt like a lifetime. And as his thoughts were slipping away, he thought there was a reason he shouldn't have touched her, something really important but he couldn't remember it. He just wanted her. He wanted her so bad.

His hand pulled the band holding her hair in a ponytail so her hair tumbled free, and groaned when he ran his fingers through it. He wondered if she'd let him grab a fistful of it when he finally taught her to suck his dick. He wondered if she'd gag. He wondered if she'd swallow. He wondered a lot of things that made him incredibly hard as he devoured her mouth, frantically straining to be all over her body, everywhere all at once.

Most of all, he wondered how soon he could pleasure her again, because she'd said the truth – he loved the taste of her. Even if he got another girlfriend after this, her sweet taste was something he'd never ever forget. Was she dripping wet right now, ready for him to lick her? To just slide into her?

He left her mouth only when the need to breathe became absolutely necessary, attacking her jaw and neck instead while one hand moulded one breast and its straining nipple; and the other fisted her hair and used it to manipulate the angle of her head.

She felt so amazing... And she was responding like she was made for him.

As his tongue invaded her mouth again, he heard her little moan of surrender and reality came crashing back. Stupid, painful reality.

He wasn't going to let himself sleep with this selfish witch ever again.

Before he lost it completely, he forced himself to release her, pushing away from her as if she'd burnt him. It took her a second to open her eyes, but when she did, he noticed they were now a liquid gold. Oh, yeah, she was completely ready for him. If he'd wanted to go all the way, she wouldn't have stopped him.

He let out a humourless chuckle. Things could have been so different...

Only now, he couldn't let himself nail her. She turned him into someone he was not, a bully and an inconsiderate fucker, and he was tired of that. And she'd aborted his child. He had to put distance between them if he was ever going to get past this nightmare. That was the only way.

"You sick fuck!" she said through grit teeth, her anger returning again. "How could you do that, after everything?"

"Because I can."

"I hate you, Nero Hardy."

"Well, I guess this won't be as hard as I thought."

Vince!

At the sound of the other voice, he whirled round to see the room full of his colleagues from all rosters and his bosses, all seated around the table with Vince at the head, and all of them facing their direction with varying expressions on their faces – from amusement to shock or disgust and indifference.

Amusement on Shane's.

Horror on Maria's.

Fury on Matt's.

And absolute glee on Vince's face.

"Fuck me!" he whispered.

* * *

**Ha!**

**I suppose I have to write something in Keri's POV now. Sigh. It's so fun being in Jeff's tortured head. Wonder what Vince has in mind for these two.**

**Thank you again, my wonderful reviewers. xoxo olivia (love how you reviewed previous chapters as well. Most people just read till the current chapter and review then), TinkerBell658, BourneBetter67, Bingobaby, Mizzy681, xSamiliciousx, LegacyChick, stripes31.**

**I'm trying to work on Amazing Grace as well. It's kinda hard when my fingers swell like sausages (and my toes!) everyday. **

**PS: I so love how Monday night is now Rated R!!!!**


	21. Chapter 21

Fuck...

Maria had only broken up with him that morning and now he'd humiliated her by being all over another woman in front of the people he worked with. How could he ever begin to make up for that, on top of everything else?

"I'm sorry I'm late, sir," he said quickly, when he realised he was still the centre of attention.

Damn it, what did all these people think of him now? He knew how bad it would have looked to someone not used to him and Keri fighting.

"Have a seat, Jeff. Miss Christos, so glad you could join us," Vince said with a smile. "I've saved you a seat up here next to me."

Normally, Vince would have thrown one of his famous billionaire fits if anyone was even a minute late, but he seemed to have forgotten all about him as he smiled at Keri.

This had warning bells ringing in his head straight away.

He sat as far away from his brother as he could but realised belatedly that he'd chosen the seat opposite Randy. The man's expression was blank but his eyes were piercing him intently. It was hard to tell what he was thinking. Such a psycho... The fuck did Keri see in him anyway?

"I'll get straight to the point," Vince said when Keri sat down. "I've asked you here to offer you a job. Actually, two of them. The first one... Well, how would you like to be Jeff's valet for the next couple of months?"

What?

"No!" Jeff interrupted, daring to go against the boss' wishes. "With all due respect, sir, that's a very bad idea."

"Would I get to whack him in the head with a chair like Matt did?" Keri asked, looking him straight in the eye as a smile formed on her lips.

There were a few snickers around the room but he pushed everyone to the back of his mind as this new situation suddenly presented so many potential problems for him. How would he stop himself from sleeping with her again if he was forced into her company?

"Keri, don't do it," he said.

"You telling me what to do again, Nero?" she snapped.

"No. I'm just saying, think about it," he tried desperately.

"I'm willing to pay very handsomely," Vince smiled.

Sure. Offer the girl loads of money, the one thing she'd spent her whole life trying to get!

What the hell was Vince's game? How could he think making her his valet would work? Had he not seen what had happened only seconds ago? If he wanted Keri to work for him so bad, he should have made her Matt's valet, not his.

"How much money?"

"We'll discuss terms in private, but I assure you, you'll be comfortable for a while."

He saw her bite her lip in thought. How could she even consider this after all that had happened? She knew how angry he was with her.

Then she smiled.

That was when he knew his fate was sealed.

Dammit!

But wait? Had Vince said he had _two_ job offers?

* * *

Keri watched Jeff angrily storm off in one direction, leaving her standing in front of the room where they'd just had a meeting with Vince. Everyone had long since gone and left them to talk about the job and terms.

Well, two jobs...

She frowned again as she thought how completely odd Vince's offers were. Not just the valet one, the other one too. A reality show? Had she really just agreed to have cameras following her around wherever she went? _Was she fucking crazy?_

She had to admit, had Jeff not made her so mad she would have laughed in Vince's face. She couldn't have cameras following her, she had people all over the place probably out for her blood. The last thing she wanted to do was tell them where she was. But the money Vince had offered for that...

For a couple of months of backstage promos and a few ringside appearances, Vince had named a figure that had her jaw dropping to the floor. It would be the easiest money she'd ever made. If she chose to also take the second offer, the valet job would serve to introduce her to the Hardy fans who didn't sometime see her on the Hardy show when she made little appearances and therefore Vince would pay her a lot more. He'd said another figure that had her almost paralysed with shock. Then to have cameras following her and Jeff for a few months... the money she'd make on that would set her up for a long, long time.

And she had to face it; she really needed the money right now. She had to replace what she'd spent from the bank account Matt had set up for her, then the rest... well, if she was going to be any sort of good mother at all, she needed to set herself up somewhere and provide security and stability for the baby.

Her hand drifted down to her stomach and she sighed.

She'd be showing soon. That meant if she took this job, Jeff would know she'd lied to him. She had a feeling he wouldn't accept taking a backseat in the baby's life. Then of course everyone else would know. Especially if they had camera's following them constantly. Vince was obviously hoping for some drama, and a secret pregnancy went right up that alley.

Her face fell as she thought of all the options. Vince's offers were incredible. But she couldn't take them.

"Oh, you're still here," Vince smiled as he walked out of the room they'd left him in. "Everything alright?"

"Um... I should probably tell you this before you go and draw up any contracts and stuff," she started.

Shit. Turning down so much money...

"Please don't say you can't do it. I'll double your money."

Shiiii...

"Um... That's very generous of you, but why would you do that? For all you know the whole thing could just crash and burn."

"I don't think so. And if it does, I'll chalk it up as experience and move on," Vince shrugged.

Oh, yeah. Billionaire. He could afford it.

"I still_"

"I'll triple your money."

"Huh?"

She wasn't even bargaining for more money and the man was throwing it at her!

"Just go and think about it," Vince said. "I'll talk to you again just before Wrestlemania, I'll have all the necessary paperwork, but you can still change your mind if you really feel you can't do it."

With that the man walked off, leaving her to wonder if he was crazy. You didn't offer some stranger, an unknown, loads of money in the hopes that people would like them enough for you to make your money back.

Shaking her head, she started to walk down the long hallways. There was a lot more activity now than when they'd first got to the arena so she guessed it would soon be show time. She needed to talk to Randy about this. He'd probably think she was crazy for thinking about taking the job if she didn't fess up about the baby. But if she confessed, Matt would probably kill Jeff, so there wouldn't be a job to do anyway.

She had a lot to think about.

However much she wanted the money Vince was willing to part with, she hated Jeff, she hated the things he'd said to her and didn't know if she could be in a room with him long enough to give Vince what he wanted. And then there was the fact that when he touched her she forgot herself...

Her fingers went to her lips as she remembered how he'd kissed her earlier. She could still feel his lips on hers, still feel the fire in her veins... If that happened on TV, wouldn't that cause a bit of a scandal? Forced in his company, it would probably happen a lot. It would be like porn...

Immediately, she shut her brain down. It would do her no good imagining Jeff's hands on her body. The man was vile and she hated him, no matter how skilled in bed he was.

She came upon an area that had been set up as Catering and decided to grab something to eat. Now that she knew she was pregnant she had to take care of herself better. The sickness was almost completely gone now, even if some smells still made her nauseous. If she ate healthily and regularly, she'd gain her weight back in no time.

There were a few tables and chairs set up and most were occupied. She saw Adam and a few of the people she'd met the week before but decided she really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. Then she smiled when she saw Mark at a table by himself like the last time. Were people really afraid of the guy?

Taking her plate, she made her way over and sat down opposite him. She spared him a brief glance and almost laughed when she saw the irritated look on his face. Then she bit into her sandwich and ignored him completely, which seemed to please Mark because he tucked back into his food and ignored her too, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

How was she going to keep the baby secret?

* * *

Matt and Shane were in the locker room when he walked in and he expected to be beat down the second they saw him.

"Well?" Shane asked instead.

Well what? Was he asking why he near enough ate Keri up against that door or what had happened in the meeting with Vince?

"Did she take the job?" Matt asked, obviously irritated with the amount of time he was taking to answer.

"Yes," he bit out.

The bitch.

"You don't seem too pleased about that. What's the matter? Thought you'd be happy that she'd be on hand for you to fuck to your heart's content," Matt snapped.

"Matt!" Shane chided.

"No, I want to hear what he says," Matt said. "What's his problem?"

_My problem is that bitch killed my baby and I still want to fuck her!_

But of course he wasn't going to say that. That statement would get him killed.

"Well?" Matt asked. "What the hell was that shit? You said you would do right by her. What was that argument about? You had enough of her already?"

"Matt... It's complicated," he started.

"How? You're sleeping with her because either you care about her or you're using her. Which one is it?"

He was going to go with the answer that wouldn't get his dick cut off.

"Of course I care about her," he lied. "She just still rubs me up the wrong way sometimes."

"So that shit in front of everyone was a lover's spat? You made up now?" Matt asked.

Made up? If he never saw her again it would be too soon!

"Yeah," he lied again.

"I told you," Shane smiled, slapping Matt on the back. "Worrying over nothing. Just let them be, they're grown."

"I have to worry. Keri's my responsibility."

"And I'm your brother," Jeff snapped, irritated that once again everyone was just worried about Keri. What about him?

"You haven't had it nearly as bad as Keri has, so don't start with that 'you always take her side' bullshit," Matt warned.

That had him thinking back to the night they'd watched video evidence of him taking Keri's virginity. Matt had hinted at something... said he'd promised Keri would be safe with them and not her own family... And what else had he said? That he couldn't kill her uncle? Keri had looked desperate to stop him talking.

"I know you're my brother and I know you have her back but forgive me if I don't believe you've suddenly fallen in love with her. You're only going to hurt her and I can't have that."

He frowned. He now knew how hard Keri had it with her family but surely she'd been safe there... And if she hadn't been, was her uncle the cause?

"What are you protecting her from, Mattie?" he asked quietly, his eyes narrowing.

"From jerks like you," Matt snapped. "Men who want to use her and throw her away."

"We've already established that's not what Jeff's doing," Shane said.

Um... Yeah. It was best to just go with it.

"Tell me the truth, Matt."

His brother seemed to realise what he meant because his anger drained from him and his lips clamped shut.

"That _is_ the truth," Matt said, turning away from him with a sigh.

Jeff knew he was lying. Did that mean his suspicions were true? Did her uncle do something to her? Obviously, since she'd been a virgin when he first slept with her, nothing like _that_ had happened. But was that because he was on the wrong track or because Matt had got her out of that house in time?

"You're lying to me. Tell me what happened," he insisted.

Okay, so he hated the bitch but if she'd gone through some shit with her uncle on top of everything else... poor thing. No wonder she was messed up.

"Why? Coz you think you can rush in and play hero this time?" Matt chuckled humourlessly as he turned back to face him.

"I _need_ to know," he insisted.

Matt looked at him intently for a while, and he could almost see the point a light bulb lit in his head.

"It's not my story to tell," Matt sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But I have a feeling she'll tell you herself soon."

Jeff frowned. It was almost as if his brother had changed his mind about him. But why?

"I'm going to find something to drink," Matt said. "See you guys later."

Wait? Did that mean he was forgiven?

He was still frowning at the closed door when Shane came to stand in front of him, his face serious.

"Okay, now that we've got rid of Matt, why don't you tell me what's really going on?" Shane said. "And let me remind you that, while Matt would have killed you on the spot if he found out you were lying, if you lie to _me_, they'll never find your body."

"I don't know what you mean," he stated.

Did Shane know about the baby? Did he know how much he hated that bitch?

"Something's going on her that both of you are hiding. Spill."

"Shane_"

"Look, I know you were feeding Matt a load of shit. You still hate Keri, or at least you think you do. I can overlook that fact 'cause I can see the bigger picture here. But something's forcing you together and I want to know what it is."

Jeff swallowed. It would feel good to just unload all of this bullshit to his friend but he didn't think he was ready to talk about it yet.

What would he say? That in the two days he was away from everyone he'd already built up an image in his head of his new family? Keri with his child in her arms and a smile on her face as she sat in their newly rebuilt house... And at night, endless passion as he took her over and over again.

"Dude... Are you crying?"

He looked away from Shane to blink back the tears he hadn't felt coming.

"What? No, of course not," he snorted.

"Keri's not sick, is she?" Shane asked urgently. "I mean, all this started 'cause she wasn't well, and I know you took her to the doctor's last week. She's not dying or anything, is she?"

"No, she's fine," he assured him. "I'd have told you if she was sick."

"So what is it?"

Jeff sighed. How could he even begin to answer that question when he wasn't even sure himself? One kiss had sent him back to the point he'd been before he found out she'd aborted their baby. He'd known it was a bad idea to touch her.

He was saved from answering when there was a quick knock on the door before it opened and someone stuck their head round.

"Oh, hey. Is Keri back yet? She's not answering her phone and I'm ready to go."

His eyes narrowed angrily on the intruder, meeting that cocky blue gaze for a moment before he forced himself to look away.

But Shane didn't miss that exchange. When Jeff looked back at him, he saw the same thing he'd seen on Matt's face, as if a bulb had gone on.

"She should be back in a minute, Randy. Why don't you come in and wait for her?" Shane suggested.

Randy looked from him to Shane and back again and chuckled.

"Um... I think I'll pass on that. Just tell her I'll wait for her in Catering," he said before he closed the door again.

"Fuckin' dick," Jeff muttered under his breath.

"A month ago, you could almost pass for friends," Shane chuckled.

So what was he saying?

"You don't like the guy either," he pointed out.

"I never said that. I don't approve of all the time Keri is spending with him, but I never said I don't like him."

Traitor!

"Whatever," he said. "I'm getting ready for my match now."

"You're avoiding talking about Randy and Keri," Shane stated.

"If she wants to be with that dick there's nothing we can do to stop her, is there," he snapped.

"In other words, you're jealous as fuck," Shane laughed. "Has she decided she wants Randy instead? Is that why you're in such a bad mood?"

"I don't care that she's with Randy! He's welcome to her."

"Uh huh," Shane chuckled as he turned to walk out of the locker room. "But when you decide to take her back, let me know. I'll bring some popcorn."

**AN/ Again, so sorry. Things hectic over here. **

**I felt alright this morning so just decided to get one out. Probably not very good as I didn't plot or plan nothing. Just wanted to get one out while I can. **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, hope you enjoy this one. **


	22. Chapter 22

"So let me get this right. You're actually doing Hardy?"

Keri almost choked on her orange juice as she looked from John to Randy's innocent face.

"You have such a big mouth, Randy."

"What? I just thought the whole thing at the meeting the other day was so funny," Randy shrugged.

"Yeah, he was so sure if Vince hadn't spoken Jeff would have slept with you right up against that door," Ted chuckled as he spread syrup on his pancakes.

"Guys, will you just stop," Keri muttered.

"It's not like it's a secret," Cody said. "After that meeting, Maria told everyone what happened between you two."

"And killed my awesome rep in the process. I need a word with that girl," Randy said.

"Leave her alone. She has enough to deal with."

"Who would have thought that Jeff would do that, though?" Randy chuckled. "He's made me feel like shit in the past for stringing girls along. If he wasn't waiting for a chance to murder me right now, I'd go laugh in his face."

"I'm still trying to get the story right," John interrupted. "You're doing Hardy but you're letting him think you're doing Randy too?"

"Will you stop saying that? I'm not doing anyone," she snapped.

"Well, do you wanna?" John asked, his brow cocked as he teased her.

"Haven't you figured her out yet, John? It's like she wears one of those metal chastity pants and Jeff's the only one with a key," Randy said, earning himself a punch in the arm.

"If ya'll going to be like this I'm going."

"Don't be like that. I'm just teasing you," Randy laughed as he put his arm around her. "Besides, don't we have to go shopping and shit for tonight?"

"If you're not careful, I won't be your date at all," she muttered.

The days had flown by with her hardly leaving Randy's side even though she knew Matt and Shane didn't like it. But Randy was the only one who knew what was really going on so she felt more comfortable with him than anyone else.

He'd advised her to take the job, told her she'd be a fool to pass up the chance to make that much money, on top of getting to hang out with him all the time. But he'd also told her she had to at least tell Vince, just in case he decided to put her in a situation where the baby could get hurt – which he was prone to do when the mood took him. She wasn't so sure about that. If she told him, maybe he'd take the offer off the table. So she'd decided to wait until she'd signed the contract later that morning.

Then the four idiots she was sitting with were taking her shopping. She'd tried to protest because she didn't like spending anyone's money – and she already had a dress she'd only worn a couple of times – but Randy insisted. His reason was he wanted her to parade the dresses for him, the way they did in movies, that way he could at least imagine what taking them off her would be like! She was also going to get her hair done, manicure, pedicure, the works.

Randy was sparing no expense. He wanted her to be the best looking girl at the Hall of Fame Ceremony. He said there was nothing wrong with being pampered once in a while but she had a feeling what he really wanted was to rub Jeff's nose in it. And that was also the real reason she'd agreed to being pampered like that. She wanted Jeff to see that she didn't need him.

Like Randy said, she was a strong, beautiful, independent woman. If Jeff didn't think so he could just fuck off!

Now, if only she could believe that herself...

* * *

The waiter placed Jeff's breakfast in front of him but he pushed it away. He kept his gaze on his steaming cup of coffee, though occasionally he couldn't help looking up at the group of people having their breakfast at the back of the restaurant.

He'd been busy all week with appearances and signings and of course the four day long Fan Axxess but Keri had been playing in his mind the whole time. There were things he couldn't understand about the turn their relationship had taken. They'd called a tentative truce where he'd started to actually like her, to get where she was coming from, then the second they'd watched that DVD and realised he'd taken her virginity and made her pregnant, everything had changed. She'd started to hate him again and he couldn't understand why.

So he said he hadn't wanted her to carry his child, but if she was honest, she didn't want to carry his child either. So why did she have to get in a hissy fit and get rid of the child? To spite him? To hurt him?

Well, she'd succeeded. He still felt the pain when he thought of his unborn child.

But over the few days that Keri had been near enough avoiding everyone but the new friends she'd made, he'd also felt the pain of not being with her, even if they were fighting. He couldn't understand that either. He hated her. Didn't he? Well, when he got to know he a bit better he'd realised he'd been wrong to hate her before but now... She'd killed his child. He wasn't wrong to hate her now.

Was he?

He now knew she had some pretty strong principles, one of which was that she'd wanted a man to love her, to marry her before she went all the way with him. He had to assume that meant she was waiting for that man to have his babies. Security, stability... that was what she wanted for herself and her baby, and considering her childhood he couldn't blame her. And what Matt was keeping from him about her uncle had been playing in his mind over and over. Maybe her uncle had abused her. He'd been one of her caregivers and abused his position of trust.

So could he really blame her for getting rid of the baby?

She'd had a tough childhood. And on top of that, they didn't love each other. And even after finding out he was the baby's father, there was no way he was going to offer marriage. They'd both been drunk out of their minds when he took her virginity and the few times that he'd slept with her since were hardly gentle. Except that last day... By the creek and in her shower... Their lovemaking had been so gentle he'd felt connected to her somehow.

But besides that, their relationship was shaky at best. She wouldn't have wanted to bring a child into that.

So he was stuck between hating what she'd done and feeling sorry for her. She'd been thrust from complete innocence to the prospect of mothering a child with a man she hated. It would have messed anybody up.

Maybe it would be best to forget the whole incident ever happened and move on, like she was doing.

"Yeah, forget it ever happened," he snorted to himself.

How could he forget something so mind altering? Sleeping with her... Sinking into her hot, tight body... Tasting her...

He closed his eyes and bit back a groan. Now wasn't the time to indulge in those memories. In the past he'd have gone to find Maria but now...

He'd been near enough shunned backstage for cheating on Maria. Everyone liked her, and he knew he deserved it. He'd never meant to hurt her, but he'd been wrong to stay in the relationship with her when he was thinking of someone else.

"Hey. You eating that?"

Before he could answer, Shane sat himself opposite him and grabbed his untouched breakfast.

"What's up with you?" Shane asked through a mouthful of food.

Loud laughter rang through the restaurant, making both of them look at the group of people.

"Oh," Shane laughed.

"What?" he snapped.

"Keri looks like she's enjoying herself," Shane shrugged. "Bet you wish she was sitting here with you instead."

"Why would I want that?"

Was he so transparent?

"Because you're in love with her and won't admit it to yourself," Shane chuckled.

"Fuck you," he muttered.

In love with her? Just because he wanted to nail her repeatedly? Complete bullshit!

Shane laughed as he called a waiter over and ordered a cup of coffee for himself. When the coffee came, he'd finished the food so he sat back to enjoy it. Jeff knew something was up straight away. He was in for one of Shane's 'talks' – which, when applied to Shane really meant 'mind fuck'. That man could make anyone really think twice about shit. He wasn't so sure he wanted that right now.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on in that head of yours?"

"Nothing," Jeff grumbled.

"I doubt that. You keep looking at her like you want to eat her!"

"No, I don't!"

"Whatever. All I want to know is what's stopping you from taking what you want?"

"And you know what I want, do you?" he snorted.

"I'm sure anyone who's seen you look at Keri knows exactly what you want. I can't believe I never noticed it before, it's so freakin' obvious," Shane chuckled. "I just don't understand why you're being a pussy about it. Whatever happened between you and Keri, I'm hoping you got to know her bit better and realised the last thing she'd do is jump from sleeping with you to sleeping with another man straight away."

He snorted his disbelief. Randy had enjoyed nothing better than throwing Keri in his face the past few days. He was obviously sleeping with her.

"Oh, come on! You can't really be jealous," Shane said. "The girl waited twenty-four years. She's dated guys better looking than Randy. Remember that model? I thought for sure she'd give in and sleep with him. But the fact is she's never found anyone she wanted like that. Or she has but felt they didn't want the same thing. Not many guys want to wait till their wedding day to sleep with their girl. Then you came along and all that went out the window. Did you stop to ask yourself why?"

No, because he hadn't known. If he had he would have been so much gentler with her that first time...

Then maybe she wouldn't have started hating him again and got rid of his child. And she wouldn't be trying to move on. With Maria out of the way, she could have been right by his side. He could have got to know her better by day and made love to her till she passed out in the night.

"It doesn't matter anymore. Shit's happened and she's moving on. Good for her."

"You're so pathetic. You're not even going to try?" Shane asked.

"Try what?"

"You've got feelings for her. And she's obviously got feelings for you if she let you do what you did. Aren't you in the least bit curious to see where that goes?"

"The only feelings I have for her would disappear after a few more tumbles in my bed," he snapped.

If he'd said this to Matt...

"Would they?" Shane asked. "How do you know? I mean, if you took time to really know her, who's to say you won't want to spend your whole life with her?"

"I think you watch too much TV, Shane."

"And I think you're being intentionally obtuse. You know what I'm saying makes sense. She has feelings for you; the last thing she'll do is be with Randy. So get up off your ass and make this right," Shane said as he stood up. "I'll see you later. Got signings and shit."

He watched Shane walk out and shook his head. Keri had feelings for him, alright. The same feelings he had for her. It was all just physical; a mindless need. It didn't mean anything.

The group at the back of the restaurant stood up and noisily made their way to the exit. He followed Keri's progress till she was out of his sight, then only when she was gone did he kick himself for acting like some hormone-led teenager.

With a tired sigh, he dropped a few bills on the table and made his way out. He had a busy day ahead of him. Daydreaming about fucking Keri wasn't going to get him anywhere.

* * *

Keri stepped out of the Limo amid blinding flashes of light as Randy tucked her arm in his and led her into the Toyota Center. She felt like a princess; Randy had certainly gone out of his way to make her feel like one! From the deceptively simple long black dress that clung to her curves and made her feel good about her body for a change to the hair that had been professionally curled and piled on top of her head; from the professional make-up job to the painted toes sticking out of her strappy high heels; the diamonds in her ears to the designer clutch in her hand – fucking princess!

She didn't think she'd ever felt so good about herself before. She couldn't help letting out a squeal of excitement once they were inside, making Randy chuckle beside her.

"Get used to it kid. Now that you signed that contract, this is going to happen quite often," he smiled.

The ceremony hadn't started yet so some people were still standing around, talking in little groups. Randy led her to where his friends stood with their dates, and seeing how gorgeous the girls looked, she was glad Randy had insisted on buying her the dress. The one she'd planned on wearing would never have held a candle to any of the designer shit on display here.

"Looking good_, _girl," Cody said as she kissed their cheeks in greeting.

"Thank you," she smiled.

Genuine comments, unlike the ones she used to get in the past when someone wanted something from her, made her feel good. It reaffirmed that her decision to stick around had been the best one, even if she would be thrown in close proximity to Jeff.

She didn't know quite how it happened, but somehow her eyes immediately found Jeff, like he was calling her somehow. She'd seen him dressed up many times in the past but somehow, tonight he looked... good. His hair was neatly tied back and he wore a black tux – a black tux! The man usually wore some colourful suit to match his artistic nature but for some reason he'd gone for this more laid back, almost sombre look. He stood with Matt and Shane and a few other people with his hands in his pockets as he looked around.

Then, as if he'd felt her staring, his eyes found hers.

She'd expected the same cold look in his eyes that she'd seen the last time she'd talked to him, but even from across the room, she could tell that his emerald eyes were burning with something else, something she hadn't seen since the night they'd watched the DVD.

_Look away. Look away!_

But she couldn't heed her own warning. She was lost in those eyes, the eyes that reminded her that the man had made her a slave to her body, to every raw nerve end that he exposed with just one look.

And like those other times, heat spread through her body at an amazing speed, pooling in her groin and making her gasp softly. She saw him bite his bottom lip as his gaze slowly travelled the length of her body then back up to meet her eyes. There was no mistaking what he was thinking, what he wanted. Her body was telling her she wanted the same thing...

Her tongue darted out to unconsciously lick her lips as she remembered just how good Jeff had made her feel before.

"Why don't you just go over there and eat him?" Randy whispered with a chuckle.

Immediately – thankfully – she remembered where she was, and she remembered who Jeff was. He was the man she hated, one of the many who thought she was worthless. No way was she going to let him touch her again.

"Let's go find our seats," she said, quickly turning away from Jeff.

* * *

Fuck...

The hell did she have to go and look that hot? While he'd always thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world, all done up the way she was, she looked a million times better. The dress she wore hugged her perfect curves so snugly, reminding him all over again of the few times he'd had his way with her.

He groaned and he bit his lip as his body remembered how tight and hot and wet she felt around his hard dick. He needed to feel that again. To hell with the consequences. He needed to fuck her so bad...

Keri licked her lips and he almost came on the spot. There was so much he wanted to do to those lips, to that mouth. And judging by the look in her eyes, she wanted the same thing. Whether she'd kick herself for it afterwards was a different story but there was no denying she wanted him too.

Maybe Randy wasn't satisfying her. Maybe she'd realised what he told her in the very beginning was true, that no one else would make her feel what he made her feel. Maybe she realised that, if they wanted to move on from this shit they just needed to fuck until it went away.

He watched as Randy whispered something to her and broke the spell. He almost marched over to punch the guy but he restrained himself. Now wasn't the time.

"Wow," Shane said.

He didn't turn away from the couple as they walked away. How could he? Keri's perfect ass, swaying from side to side and moulded perfectly by the silky black material, held him captive. Was she wearing any underwear? Didn't look like it.

He groaned again at the thought, ignoring Shane.

"You have it really bad, Jeff," Shane laughed.

"Yeah," he agreed helplessly.

Having tasted her, he didn't think he would ever be able to hide his physical reactions when Keri was nearby. Before it had been easier because he hadn't known how the reality would surpass his fantasies.

"I need her, Shane," he confessed in a hushed voice.

He knew Shane had no illusions about what he meant, that his need was very physical. It didn't matter to him anymore what had happened the past few days. It still hurt, but it was done. There was nothing he could do about it now. All he knew now was he needed to be with her again as much as he needed his next breath.

"Then are you going to do something about it?" Matt asked.

He turned away from staring at the doorway through which Keri and Randy had disappeared to stare in shock at his brother. He hadn't thought Matt would notice what had happened, much less hear what he'd just said about Keri. Over the last few days, Matt had backed off with his threats, even though it was quite glaringly obvious that he didn't have a relationship with Keri like he'd claimed.

"Um... I don't know," he replied.

"Maybe you should. Something tells me she's not completely averse to the idea," Matt chuckled.

"Something? They didn't even seem to remember that they weren't alone," Adam snorted. "Want me to help you get her alone?"

He'd stopped asking why Adam was suddenly hanging out with them again, even if it was only occasionally. At the end of the day, it was Matt's decision. And of course, he now had a different point of view on the whole cheating thing.

"He needs to do the whole flowers and dating thing, just so Keri doesn't think he's only after one thing," Dave suggested.

"Oh, I think _Jeff_ thinks he's only after one thing. He's the one you should work on," Matt laughed.

Jeff frowned. Since when was his brother okay with that? And what did he mean he _thought_ he was only after one thing? Of course he was! What else could there be between him and Keri?

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here," he grumbled. "And I don't appreciate all of you all up in my business."

"It's not our fault you made yourself the top of the gossip list when you gave us a free show at the meeting," Big Show laughed.

"That's not funny, man," he snapped.

Would he ever live that down?

"We're only trying to help, bro. You look like you're suffering," Matt grinned.

Great! So everyone knew he was sexually frustrated. Could this get any worse?

"Since she's his valet now, I think we don't have to do anything," Shane said. "They'll be forced to spend a bit of time together and that's all they need."

"And don't forget the whole reality show," Adam put in. "I didn't get it before, when Vince mentioned it in the meeting before these two came in. I mean, I didn't have a clue Jeff felt like that. Then the whole kiss thing happened and I can suddenly see things more clearly. And looking back, I'm kicking myself for not noticing it before. All that sexual tension and shit. Dude's been in love with her for years! Vince is about to make himself a lot of money."

"I'm not in love with her," Jeff snapped. "What's wrong with you people?"

Anyone would think these men had never met a woman they just wanted to nail! If they went around saying this bullshit it would reach Keri's ears in no time and that was the last thing he wanted. He wanted to dick her but if she got ideas in her head that he was in love with her... That would be disastrous!

"They'll fight like animals and make up the same way," Shane said, completely ignoring Jeff's statement. "You're right Adam. Vince is on to a winner. I just hope he knows this won't be rated PGA!"

Swearing under his breath, Jeff walked away from his friends, ignoring the laughter that followed him.

The fucking reality show. He should never have signed that contract but Vince had ways of convincing people they were doing the right thing. And even if he hadn't signed, he had a feeling Vince would have got his own way through Keri anyway. He would have been in the show whether he wanted or not, he might as well get paid for it!

But now the whole world would see what she did to him. He didn't like that one bit.

He found his seat and his mood immediately brightened when he saw Keri only a couple of seats away. With a sly smile, he switched seats. He could tell she hadn't realised he was sitting next to her because she was still leaning over Randy speaking to Ted. But Randy saw him.

The Viper's ice blue eyes locked on his, making him grin as he imagined what was going through the man's head. Randy had been throwing Keri in his face all week. It was his turn to show the other guy that whatever he had with her, it would only take a single look to get her back. And in a darkened room like this, who knew what could happen?

He had a quick flashback of their last plane ride together and grinned again.

Yes, this would definitely be a lot of fun.

And by the end of the night, Keri would be screaming his name again.

* * *

**AN/ Some steamy action coming right up... lol.**

**Thanks **_Bingobaby, xSamiliciousx, xoxo olivia, BourneBetter67, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf and TinkerBell658 _**for reviewing the last chapter and as always, everyone who put this story on their alerts and favs.**


	23. Chapter 23

Keri felt him first before she actually saw him.

How was it that, after all these years being close to Jeff she was only feeling like this now? She could actually feel his gaze on her, burning her... undressing her... She bit back a moan. It had to stop. She couldn't afford to wallow in all these overwhelming feelings anymore, there was just too much at stake. And it wasn't as if it was anything meaningful, so if she just ignored Jeff everything would be back to normal in no time.

When the pyro display started, indicating the start of the Ceremony, she sat back in her chair with a smile at Randy. But Randy wasn't smiling. In fact, he wasn't looking at her at all.

Turning to look at what had his attention, she met with blazing emerald eyes. The gasp that left her mouth was completely involuntary. The way Jeff was looking at her... Even before, when he'd slept with her, he'd never looked at her quite like that. She felt like in his mind, she was already naked, on her back and stuffed full of his large dick. And she felt like she was the only person in the world that mattered – none of the excited activity going on around them seemed to draw his attention away.

She swallowed in an attempt to wet her suddenly dry mouth.

"The hell are you sitting there for?" she hissed, hoping she'd injected the right amount of venom in her voice. She didn't want him to know just how much he was affecting her.

_Oh, he knows alright! He knows exactly what he does to you. _

She kicked that voice out of her head and looked away from the intense gaze.

"I thought it was time we set a few things straight," Jeff drawled.

"Like what?"

Keri tensed when she saw a movement in the corner of her eye, rightfully so when it turned out it was Jeff's hand coming up to her hair. She didn't want him touching her... any part of her. He let his fingers run through a curly lock of her hair before playfully twirling it.

"Isn't it obvious? I want you, Keri," he said, his voice a bare whisper; low, raspy and sending shivers down her spine.

Her breath hitched. Dammit! Why did he have to say things like that?

"I've told you before, Nero. You'll never touch me again!" she snapped.

Jeff let out a chuckle as he leaned closer to her, his hand still in her hair.

"And we both know that's bullshit. You love it when I touch you," he whispered. "You love my lips on your body... between your legs... You love the way I fuck you... all of me inside you..."

Her traitorous body reacted. Every word he spoke was like a hot blow between her legs, leaving her panties soaking.

"Are you fucking bipolar?" she hissed again, looking back at him.

One minute he hated her because she told him she'd got rid of his baby the next he was acting like nothing had happened. She didn't like it. She preferred it when he was saying nasty things to her, making it easier for her to stick to her decision.

Jeff grinned, making her shiver in reaction.

What was this? She'd never found him sexually attractive before, now anything he did had the power to melt her panties? Something was terribly wrong with that picture.

"Not bipolar," he whispered. "Just looking forward to the end of tonight when I have you in my arms again. All night."

She swallowed and looked away. She was _not_ going to fall for this. Sleeping with him again would end badly. For her, not Jeff. He'd walk away when he had enough. He'd play her like a fiddle then run when something better came along, exactly like all the men that had come and gone in her mother's life. It was only sex for him. As for her... well, if she knew how to separate sex and her heart then she wouldn't have stayed a virgin for so long.

_What?_ Of course she knew how to do that! She'd already slept with him so many times and yet she hated him. Why would she even think she would start to see it as something more?

It was the hormones. Yes, that was it. She'd read how they made you all emotional and moody and shit. They were probably what were making her react so strongly to him in the first place.

As if to test her theory, his large hand left her hair and came to rest casually on her thigh, immediately setting it on fire.

* * *

The little gasp that left her lips got him harder instantly. She was trying not to look at him but he could see the rapid pulse at the base of her throat and the way her chest rose and fell with her quick breaths. And all he'd done was touch her thigh, not even intimately. God, he'd missed how responsive she was.

With another grin, he looked at Randy, knowing he'd caught the whole exchange. How did he feel, knowing the woman he was nailing couldn't help falling apart for him? That piercing gaze of his revealed nothing, yet again.

Just to taunt him, he tightened his grip on Keri's thigh, grinning wider when she tried to hide a moan behind a cough. Randy's gaze shifted to Keri then the hand on her thigh. The only reaction Randy showed was a little frown as he looked back at Keri's face – she looked like she was about to cum on the spot. Then surprisingly, he just looked forward and paid attention to the proceedings.

Maybe Randy realised there was absolutely nothing he could do. Maybe he thought Keri wouldn't actually go as far as sleeping with someone else when she was supposed to be warming his bed. Well, they'd see about that last one.

Completely ignoring the man speaking on stage, the numerous cameras all over the room and of course the thousands of people all around them, he leaned closer still to Keri until his lips were a mere breath away from her ear.

"I didn't want to do you in the bathroom," he whispered, "but I don't think I can sit through this for hours with you next to me."

"So move," Keri bit out.

He moved his hand slowly up her thigh, loving the silky feel of her dress, his body again reacting to the subtle changes in her breathing.

"I didn't mean move your hand!"

"Oh, my bad," he grinned, stopping his movement so his fingers were right at the apex of her thighs.

In fact, if he moved his little finger just a little he knew he'd feel her hot little pussy. Was she soaking wet? How long until she went to the bathroom with him willingly?

"Jeff, now's not the time," she hissed. "Stop playing your little games with me, people are watching."

He tilted his head to look around a little. His brother and friends were sitting only a few chairs away and did indeed seem to be watching them instead of the speeches going on, on the stage.

"Well," he started, turning back to her and moving his hand so it was right against her, putting pressure on her through the silk of her dress, "you either come with me now, or we sit here and I make you cum over and over again. You know I can."

To prove his point her rubbed her, just a little, and watched how she bit her lip to stop from making a sound.

"That's not fair," she hissed.

He rubbed her again, with a bit more pressure.

"Stop it!"

And again. This time he also moved his lips to the base of her neck, right on her wild pulse.

Muttering swear words, Keri shot out of her seat and started making her way out to the isle. Taking his jacket off so he could use it to cover how turned on he was, he grinned at Randy.

"I wouldn't wait up for her if I were you," he whispered as he stood up to follow.

He didn't miss the grins on his friends' faces as he walked past them. They knew what he was going to do; he'd admitted how bad he wanted Keri after all. What he didn't get was why Matt was grinning too. How did a guy go from being so protective that he'd kicked his own brother out of the house to letting a guy blatantly go after her after admitting he just wanted a fuck?

But he wasn't going to question that now. As long as he got to do Keri, how could he complain?

He caught up with her easily in the lobby, knowing that she'd probably try to escape.

"Bathroom's that way, Keri," he chuckled as he put his arm around her waist.

"I'm going back to the hotel."

"You're walking out on Randy? You're the worst date ever," he laughed.

"Shit," Keri swore, looking back at the doors that led to the arena.

She'd obviously forgotten all about Randy and that made him feel a lot better.

"Do you have any idea what you've done? You've given Randy enough ammunition for a whole year!"

She turned to go back but he caught her up against him, crushing her breasts on his chest while his hand found its way to her shapely butt. There were people everywhere, from the industry or fans, so he knew they were getting a bit of attention. He couldn't be too explicit.

"I can't let you go back in there," he growled.

"And how are you going to stop me?"

He knew exactly how. He caught her lips in his before she could protest, taking advantage of her shocked gasp to push his tongue into her mouth.

Damn...

How could anyone have lips so soft, so sweet? So addictive? It didn't take her long to relax in his hold and start kissing him back, like he'd known she would. And just like that he knew a quick tumble in the bathroom wouldn't be enough.

It would be a start, though.

Breaking the kiss, he led her down the long hallway, away from prying eyes. There was no one hanging around the hallway where the toilets were, thankfully, so he slipped into the ladies' unnoticed. A quick look under the doors of the stalls showed they were alone.

"Jeff_" Keri started.

"Shh," he said, walking towards her.

He wasn't about to give her a chance to back out. It would kill him if she did.

So he backed her against the wall, watching the way her eyes ate him up as he unzipped his pants and took his dick out. Her eyes helplessly followed his hand movements as he pumped himself a couple of times and he grew harder just seeing how hungry she was for him, how much she wanted him too. Her lips were parted, her eyelids hooded over her liquid gold pools and her breathing hard. In all his years he was sure he'd never seen such pure need, so unpretentious, so innocent... and it was directed at him. It was an incredible aphrodisiac.

Slowly he lifted her silky dress, his fingers trailing against her skin until they reached the silky g-string she wore.

"Damn. I really thought you weren't wearing any panties," he whispered with a chuckle.

He slid the tiny, silky things off her and stuffed them into his pocket, making sure he kept contact with her at all times. He didn't know why or how, but any simple touch was enough for him to lose himself and he knew it was the same for Keri.

Then he rose to his feet again and lifted her up against the wall so he could wrap her legs around him.

"You ready for me baby?"

She nodded in answer but he couldn't help finding out for himself. He slid one finger into her, then another, watching her face as she moved on his fingers. God, she was beautiful. If only the last week hadn't happened. If their friendship hadn't died so quickly, who knew what could have happened. Maybe she'd have let him touch her like this without putting up a fight. Maybe he'd have wanted to stay with her, like Shane had said.

But now wasn't the time to think of what ifs. His dick was hurting, he needed her urgently.

He really wished he could take his time, but there were no locks on the outer door of the ladies' room. If anyone walked in they'd get a massive shock.

So he removed his fingers and replaced them with his hard dick, thrusting so deep into her that he called out his pleasure. She felt as incredible as he remembered, wet... hot... so tight on his dick.

"Jeff..." Keri moaned.

"I know," he grunted, pushing into her again.

His hands gripped her butt cheeks as he used them as leverage to go deeper.

"Fuck, Keri," he hissed. "You feel so fucking good."

He was aware that the band he'd used to tie his hair had disappeared somewhere, and her fingers were buried in it. He was surprised, though, when she used her grip on it to force his face up to look at her. Keri had never initiated anything with him before. Everytime he'd slept with her he'd been in the driver's seat, partly due to her inexperience and partly because half the time she hadn't wanted it to start off with. But now she held his head in place and met his eyes, showing him exactly what every stroke was doing to her. She held nothing back; not the gasps, not the moans, not the fire in her eyes. It was impossible not to get caught up in it.

They connected.

That's how it ended up being more than just a quick fuck in the bathroom. It became a meshing of souls and it scared the hell out of him, even as he allowed himself to be drawn in deeper.

He slowed his pace, allowing her to feel every hard ridge of himself as he held her gaze. She still looked awed by what he was making her feel and for a moment he felt humbled that he'd been her first.

"Jeff... so good," she moaned.

"Fuck yeah," he agreed, his voice a bit shaky. "You fit on me so perfectly... I don't know if I'll ever get enough."

Maybe it was the wrong thing to admit, seeing as she had a way of using his words against him, but he must have said something right. His reward was the tightening of her muscles on him, forcing him to close his eyes and moan his pleasure. If he were to die inside her like this he'd die a very happy man. He had to use all his will power not to increase his pace, not just yet, not until he'd made her come, not until she'd screamed his name.

And it didn't take long for that to happen. She screamed his name like he'd known she would, just as her muscles started quivering around him and her grip tightened in his hair.

"Fuck..." he groaned, his mouth meeting hers as he swallowed the last of her screams and he increased his pace.

Only moments after that he came, releasing himself into her in strong bursts that seemed endless. He would have slid down to the floor if he didn't have to support her limp body.

He looked down at her satisfied face and smiled. For someone who hadn't even wanted this, she looked very much like the cat that got the cream. He couldn't help kissing her again.

"Let me take you back to the hotel," he whispered against her lips, adding a shaky "Please."

* * *

It didn't matter to him that a lot of the fans had taken pictures of him kissing Randy's date. It didn't matter that they'd seen him bustle her into a taxi and half of them probably knew why. And it didn't matter that when they finally got to the hotel, he couldn't keep his hands off her even in the lobby. Keri had agreed to spend the night with him and he wasn't wasting a moment.

He made love to her all night. In his room, locked away from the world, it was like all the nasty things hadn't happened. She was just a girl and he was just a guy. Once or twice he kissed her stomach, a sort of goodbye to his child, and a few times he even wondered if he could get her pregnant so soon after a termination – even though he'd thought she was unsuitable for the role of mother of his child he still wanted his child back in her stomach just so everything could go back to the way it was. But he pushed those thoughts aside. He didn't have time to dwell on them.

It felt good to wake up next to her the following morning. In fact, it felt a little too good. He knew it wouldn't last, though. Once they let the world in again they'd be back to warring. And she'd be back with Randy. If he'd have her.

Stifling a yawn, he looked down at her sleeping face again. He was still incredibly tired, running on only a couple of hours sleep. Keri had slept for longer though. He'd tired her out, so much so that she'd seemed to pass out, and he'd spent a good while just looking at her, studying her like he was doing now. Her hair was fanned out on the pillow in sexy disarray and her body was turned to him. She looked so peaceful, so innocent. It was almost hard to believe she carried so much on her little shoulders. He hadn't wanted to remember that when he'd been angry with her, but it was hard not to after the tenderness they'd shared the previous night. He was still hurt by her actions but not angry. Looking back at it, he'd probably brought it on himself. It wasn't a good thought but it seemed like it was the truth. If he'd been more supportive...

He yawned again and settled back on his pillow with his face buried in her hair, gathering her body closer to his. He placed his hand gently on her stomach, noting how firm it still was. It would probably take a while for her body to return to normal.

Or maybe it wouldn't, if he decided to impregnate her again...

On that thought, he drifted off to sleep. He had to be up in a little while to prepare for Wrestlemania.

* * *

"You're the worst date ever."

Keri pushed passed Randy, rolling her eyes at the fact that that was the second time she'd been informed of this as she pushed down the hood of the top she'd taken from Jeff. She was still wearing her dress from the previous night although her hairdo and makeup would never have lasted such an active night.

She was freaking out. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have let her guard down with Jeff like that?

"Shut up Randy," she muttered, heading straight for his mini fridge for a bottle of water.

"How mean. I had to go to the after party all by my lonesome with everyone feeling sorry for me."

She saw a bit of fabric sticking out from the chair and picked it up with her fingertips. It was a lacy bra. Cocking her brow, she turned to look at Randy.

"Well, I wasn't about to wait while you got some, was I?" he grinned.

He was dressed in only a pair of boxers, it was only then that she realised she'd probably interrupted something. Her gaze followed the trail of clothes to the bedroom door.

"I'm sorry. I'll just grab my purse and leave you to it. My keys are in there."

"Don't be silly. I'll kick the girl out and we can order something to eat so you can tell me all the dirty details."

"So you can tell John? No thanks," she grunted, sitting down miserably in the chair. "I've been really stupid, Randy. I don't know what I was thinking. And now I have to work with the guy and... I don't think I can do it. I'd end up telling him about the baby and that's the worst thing I could possibly do. Not only will he try to take the baby from me he'll poison it against me. I can't have that. This baby's mine... He or she will love me unconditionally and I can't have Jeff ruining that for me."

"Tell you what. You jump in the shower, wash Jeff off you and put one of the hotel robes on. I'll kick this girl out and call room service. Once you've had some down you, you'll see there's nothing for you to freak out about," Randy said as he urged her towards the bathroom. "I mean, think about it. The guy was incredibly hurt when he thought you'd got rid of it. Do you really think he won't be happy you lied about that?"

"You don't know him."

"I'm starting to think it's you who doesn't know him," Randy smiled gently. "Now hurry up. I need the shower after you."

As she stood under the hot spray, she put her hand gently on her stomach. She'd woken up with Jeff's hand over it and she hoped to God it wasn't because he'd guessed the truth. Whatever Randy said, Jeff would be very, _very_ angry once he found out the truth. And she planned to be as far away from him as possible before that could happen.

* * *

**AN. It's almost one in the morning. I'm extremely tired yet unable to sleep. Two more weeks of this shit and I pop (hopefully). Yey!**

**Thank you for your wonderful reviews of the last chapter. And thank you to those who've put me on their favs and alerts. I don't know how this turned out as I'm too tired to read it again. Please point out any mistakes and I'll correct them. You can all be my betas. Lol.**

**After Wrestlemania I think I'll move things a bit quicker. I think. Hope you've enjoyed this chapter; please leave a review to let me know.**

**Much love.**


	24. Chapter 24

**I'm baaaaack...**

Keri sighed as she sat down at an empty table in Catering. She'd been 'informed' that her duties as Jeff's valet started that night, which she thought was stupid. It was Wrestle-fucking-mania, and she didn't have to be a fan to know how big a deal that was. How the hell was Vince expecting her to go out there in front of thousands of people when she hadn't had time to prepare?

She'd thought she'd do mainly backstage stuff until she was more prepared to come out ringside but Vince thought that was a silly idea. He said he was paying her a lot of money and expected to get his money's worth. The friendly persuasive man she'd dealt with had been replaced by a ruthless business man, and she was beginning to think she'd sold her soul to the devil.

She saw Mark walk in with a paper and grab a cup of coffee before sitting at the opposite end of the area that had been set up as Catering. Well, Matt was busy getting ready for his match, as were Randy, John, Ted and Cody. She had no one to vent to, so Mark would have to do.

So she grabbed her coffee - trying not to spill any, since her hands were shaking that violently at the thought of going out there tonight – and heading to his table.

"Your boss is an arrogant, piss-taker," she started without even a hello. "He gave me the impression I was going to have a say, more or less, but now, just cause I signed that stupid contract, he's being a dick."

Mark said nothing, as usual. It was the fourth or fifth time she was doing this to him, invading his space, picking on him because everyone seemed to think he was a scary guy and she liked a challenge.

"I have to go out there tonight. I have to try to stop the brother's fighting. The hell am I supposed to do? Have you seen the size of those guys?" she continued. "I thought it would stop with the stupid promo he's making me do – fucking live as well. He says it's better that way. Why? What if I fuck up? He won't be so fucking cocky then, will he? Suppose I decide to say how much of a dick he is, live on air? Has he thought of that?"

Mark sipped his coffee and turned a page of his paper. He hadn't looked up once.

"I'm supposed to beg Jeff not to go through with it. I'm supposed to throw myself at him, to try to make him listen. The man sold me by saying I could beat the guy up with a chair, now all of a sudden I'm supposed to hug him and shit? Vince is fucking crazy."

Mark smirked, only slightly, and turned another page.

"I'm sweating buckets here. I'm not cut out for this shit. I'm more a background kind of girl; I lurk in shadows and shit. In fact, I've survived this long by not bringing attention to myself. I should never have agreed to this."

Mark turned another page. She could hear the loud roar of the fans as the festivities started and her empty stomach turned again.

"I'm going to do something stupid, I know it. Helms and Reject say it's in my nature, I can't help it. Do you think I should have told Vince this before he hired me? I tend to say a lot of shit when I'm nervous. Even when I'm not, actually. He should have given me a script, not just told me an outline of what he needs me to do. I'm screwed. Vince is screwed. He's going to fire me so quick after this."

She saw Jeff walking down the corridor and sighed. It was time.

"Here goes nothing. Wish me luck, Marky."

She stood up and walked to where Jeff was waiting. She didn't see Taker raise his head to watch her, shaking his head as he chuckled to himself.

"Hey," Jeff said softly when she stood next to him.

It was the first time she was seeing him since she'd escaped his room early that morning, while he'd still been sleeping. If it wasn't for this job, she would have avoided him a lot longer.

"Hey," she answered.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"As I'll ever be," she sighed.

"You'll be alright. Just pretend it's just you and me, forget the cameras."

Was he being nice? She looked up into his eyes for the first time and saw a hint of warmth in the emeralds. It reminded her of how they'd been only a few days ago. That had been nice, leaning on him like that. But she couldn't do it now. He was the enemy. He'd said and done a lot of nasty shit, she couldn't forget that. Too much was at stake.

"Let's go," she snapped, turning on her heels to head to the locker rooms.

* * *

She still hated him. That much was obvious to Jeff. Even after their amazing night together. He'd have thought she'd have thawed, somehow, like he had. He was willing to give friendship with her another try, baby or no baby.

"Keri_"

"I don't want to hear it," she said, walking quicker to his locker room, where the cameramen where setting up.

She was tense, he could tell by the set of her shoulders.

"Later, then. After the show. We should talk."

"We have nothing to talk about."

"How can you say that? Last night_"

"Was a mistake," she cut in. "It should never have happened. I hate you, Jeffrey."

She only used his full name when she was really serious. Hearing those words coming out of her mouth, words he'd heard so often in the past, tightened his chest a little. But he told himself he was being stupid. They'd talk, and if she didn't want to be friends, it would be no big deal. They didn't need to be friends to fuck.

Before he could say anything, someone from wardrobe was handing Keri an outfit while a man from makeup stood waiting.

He sighed and walked to his mirror to put his paints on.

* * *

"Don't look at me like that," Keri hissed.

Jeff took his eyes off her chest with visible hardship. The cameraman chuckled under his breath. He didn't blame Jeff at all. Vince, for some reason, was hands on with this project. He'd come down to personally choose Keri's wardrobe and instruct Patrick exactly how he wanted the make-up done. The result was a sultry, sexy women who managed to look innocent at the same time. An innocent enough little top and hipster jeans. But her bust was straining through the top – Vince had deliberately chose a size too small – and the jeans only enhanced what was already God-given. Her curves were the stuff men dreamt about.

Her hair hung in waves all the way down her back and her make-up was light, including the cherry lip gloss that brought attention to her full lips. Vince was a genius for choosing this. She hardly had any make up on, yet her delightful features were popping out anyway. He'd heard Patrick – the makeup guy - say he wished the Divas were as easy to do as she was. And the June, who'd done her hair, said she wished she could run her fingers through it all day. Even from here he could tell how silky it was.

"What are you boys thinking, anyway? You can't fight like this. Do you have any idea what your dad feels?"

"I told you already, Matt's gone crazy. I didn't want this, but he's gone too far now and I need to teach him he can't do that, not to me, not to family."

"And you're going to do this by beating him up with blunt objects?" Keri snorted. "You'll hurt each other."

"I have to do this, otherwise he won't stop," Jeff said as he started taping his wrist.

"Of course he will. If you just sit down and talk_"

"Talk?" Jeff cut in. "The man burnt down my house. He killed my dog. And you want me to _talk_ to him?"

"_What?_" Keri asked, her brows drawn in disgust. "Who... What...? This is some sick shit, Jeff. Who the hell...?"

The cameraman smirked again. This wasn't in the outline Vince had given them. And since it was live, she'd just sworn on a PG rated show.

Her eyes widened as she looked at Jeff, as if she was silently asking him to help her out of the hole she'd dug for herself. Jeff just chuckled and continued taping his wrists.

"You...," Keri started, but her voice trailed off, because she'd obviously been about to swear.

Keri swallowed, and he zoomed in on her eyes. They were spitting fire at Jeff. He changed the angle and caught Jeff's face, and he was just smirking lazily.

"You're very immature. You _and_ Mattie, for doing this rubbish. No wonder Legend's upset. Bringing this crap up on TV for everybody to see," Keri muttered, deviating again.

Then as if she remembered the cameras, she swallowed again and said, "Don't do it."

"Keri, I have to. Thanks for having my back, but I gotta do this."

Ah. Back on track. Keri threw herself into Jeff's arms, hanging desperately onto him.

"You'll get hurt."

Jeff was suppose to say something along the lines of, 'I can take care of myself.'

But the boy didn't say anything. He zoomed in on Jeff's face and smirked again. Hardy was drooling again, his eyes downwards. He followed the direction with his camera and saw exactly what Hardy saw. The delicious looking butt. Then Hardy's hands, slowly snaking around it.

Something told him this was exactly what Vince had expected to happen. He didn't know why he would allow this on a PG show, but hell, this was better than anything he'd filmed in a long time. Just like the good old days.

"Jeff, the hell are you doin'?" Keri snapped, detangling herself.

No, that wasn't what she'd been told to do either.

"Hmm?" Jeff asked, now his attention back on her chest.

"Oh, this is hopeless. I'm going to talk to Mattie," Keri snapped as she stood up.

He filmed the length of her body, showing it to its full effect. If everyone out there was wondering who she was, wondering when she'd get off the screen so they could watch the Divas and Superstars worthier of their time, he doubted they were thinking that now.

Keri walked out, but he didn't stop filming, as per Vince's instructions. This was supposed to be a teaser for the other show, to get people hooked and wanting more. What better place that the sold out arena, in front of the millions of fans, here and at home, on the biggest night of the year?

He just hoped the sound guys were ready. There was a lot of swearing coming up, he was sure, and they had to do a bit of damage control.

* * *

"What was that?" Keri asked, walking back into the room when she was sure the camera wasn't rolling anymore.

"What?"

"Don't play dumb with me," she snapped. "Why would you agree to let them say anything about the house? About Jack? That's just sick. You should have at least warned me. You know that went out live, don't you? You made me look stupid."

"Oh, you don't need any help doing that, sweetness."

She gasped. Why was he always so hateful?

"Take that back," she warned him.

"Keri, go bother someone else. You didn't want to talk before, and I don't want to talk now. I have to get ready."

"I said, take it back," she warned again.

"Or what?" Jeff chuckled.

Her eyes narrowed, just before she tackled him off the chair in a spear that would have made Adam proud. She completely forgot the other people in the room.

"You crazy bitch," Jeff screamed, covering his face where she was now raining punches on him.

Who did he think he was, always making her feel so small, so insignificant? She was intelligent. She was strong. Fuck him and anybody else who didn't think so!

"Get off me! What the fuck's wrong with you?" Jeff shouted.

"I hope Mattie fucks you up real good tonight," she shouted back, still trying to knock him out.

But Jeff turned the tables on her, quickly grabbing her hands and turning her so he was the one on top.

"Do you ever learn?" Jeff hissed, breathing hard as he held her hands imprisoned above her head and used his body to pin her down.

She felt his breath on her face and painful images of the previous night filled her head – painful because the last thing she wanted to remember was how _right_ it had felt.

She knew, by the predatory gleam in his eyes, exactly what he wanted to do. But she was too late to stop it. His head descended quickly, his mouth catching hers in a searing kiss that made her forget everything, even though it only lasted a few seconds.

"People are watching. Pull yourself together," Jeff hissed, even though his breathing was as rough as her own.

It was only then that she remembered the men packing up their equipment, and she hated Jeff all the more for so easily making her forget herself.

"You always have to embarrass me, don't you?" she hissed back, roughly pushing him away before hastily getting to her feet.

The men were indeed watching her in amusement and she found herself wishing the floor could swallow her up. Again. Dammit!

"I'm not done with you," she threatened Jeff before storming out.

Jeff could wait. She had another live segment to do straight after the match that was on and she needed to compose herself.

* * *

The cameraman zoomed in on Jeff's face while he pretended to be looking through the footage he already had. He smirked. That hadn't been too much; Vince could get away with it. Even now, he knew a pre-recorded advert of the reality show that they had already started filming – without Keri's and Jeff's knowledge - was set to be shown the second he gave the signal, aimed at grabbing the fans' interest a lot more. Vince was a genius. No wonder he was a billionaire.

"You alright there, Jeff?" he asked.

Jeff looked at him, still sitting on the floor where Keri had pushed him.

"Who does that? Who attacks a man twice their size knowing they could get crushed like a bug if the man so chose?" Jeff muttered.

"She's got guts."

"More guts than brains," Jeff muttered again as he stood up. "Do you know how many times I've been beaten up because of her? She deliberately messes with huge guys when I'm around cause she knows I'll always step in."

"You don't have to step in, though," the cameraman pointed out.

"I do," Jeff sighed. "If I didn't..."

He had the look of a man who'd come to a painful realisation.

This was reality TV gold.

"You're whipped," the cameraman said gleefully.

"Don't be ridiculous!"

Jeff turned away and walked over to touch up his face paint. The camera man smirked, nodding his head to the guy waiting by his side for the signal and then waited a few seconds to cut the live feed, knowing the advert was now showing.

* * *

"I don't know if I could do that, sir," Matt protested. "I couldn't hurt her."

"You've trained most of your life. You know how to make it look real, even when you make sure it doesn't hurt."

"But if she's not expecting it, it won't look real," he pointed out. "And there's a real possibility she'll fight back. She tends to forget where she is a lot. She's very unpredictable."

"Yes, I noticed," Vince smiled with a gleam in his eyes that made Matt think of a very big cat that had just had a satisfying meal.

"Make me proud, Matthew," Vince continued, and then he turned on his heel and left the room.

Matt shook his head as he looked around at the men setting up for his segment with Keri. He had a very bad feeling about this.

* * *

"Ooooooh, someone's going to be mad," John chuckled as the advert for Keri and Jeff's reality show came to an end.

"Well, she _did_ agree to do the show," Ted pointed out.

"But they've made it look like some love story waiting to happen," Cody put in.

"Maybe it is," Randy said, speaking up for the first time after watching Keri and Jeff on the screen.

He still couldn't believe how much chemistry they had. He'd seen it first hand at the Ceremony last night; no one and nothing else had mattered to them. And he'd thought stuff like that only happened in the movies! The girl had practically cum, just sitting next to Jeff. For all his claims of being a ladies' man, he'd never even come close to making a girl feel like that. Or even feeling that strongly for a girl. No matter how hard Jeff denied it, how he felt was written clearly on his face for everyone to see.

"She still won't like that Vince advertised it as a love story," Cody repeated. "She hates Jeff."

"She thinks she hates Jeff. Big difference," Randy pointed out as he turned away from the TV to walk to his locker room.

"There she is. Think she knows?" John asked.

They watched her angrily march down the corridor. For such a tiny thing, she looked really scary when she was angry.

"You alright there, Sweetheart?" Randy asked when she was close enough.

"I'm going to kill those boys. How could they let this happen? Losing the house and Jack was tragic, yet they're making light of it?" she snapped, marching past them without even stopping. "You guys are taking me out tonight. I might feel better after watching you drown a few stiff drinks and imagining they're going down _my_ throat."

"I take it that means no," John said, answering his own question.

* * *

She got to Matt's locker room just as Vince was walking out. He gave her a satisfied smiled and she rolled her eyes and walked past him. Just because he employed her now didn't mean she had to be friendly. The man had lied to her.

"What did Vince want?" she asked when she barged in without knocking.

"Huh? Oh... he was just saying how the boys and I might get to share the revenue from your show, since you'll be filming in my house and the gang's likely to be around as well."

If she hadn't been so upset she would have been able to tell he was lying but as it was, she once again ignored the men setting up their equipment to lay into him.

"How could you let this happen?" she asked. "You know how devastated Jeff was. How could you let Vince use this?"

"Are you _defending_ Jeff?" Matt asked, an amused smile on his face.

"What? Of course not! I just think it's sick, that's all."

"Do you even know what I said about it? I bet Jeff just mentioned it and you've come charging in here like a mother hen protecting her young without all the facts," Matt chuckled.

"I don't need to watch it to know how horrible it must have been," she muttered.

Chances were she'd probably get angrier if she actually heard that shit coming from Matt's mouth. She didn't like Jeff, but she'd loved his dog. And she'd had a few of her things burn down in that house too, stuff she'd forgotten there when the gang hung out.

"Just chill. Jeff and I are getting what we want, so it's all good," Matt said as he tied his hair back.

"Matt? Miss Christos? Are you ready?"

Keri sighed. Obviously she had to wait till later to vent. She had a job to do.

* * *

Keri had walked down the aisle hand in hand with Jeff, shitting herself. Jeff's fans had screamed particularly hard, and she'd wondered again why people liked him so much. She imagined she heard her name being called as well, but she knew that was silly. None of these people knew her yet.

Then now she was watching in horror from a chair next to the commentators as Jeff and Matt used all sorts of objects to hurt each other; a vacuum, chairs, a trash can, tables, even a kendo stick and a crutch. Even if this was only for entertainment there was no way that didn't hurt. She didn't have to fake her winces and screams, and when she was begging them to stop, she really meant it. How could they do this week in week out? No wonder Jeff was ready for a break.

It was when Jeff went up a ladder to leg drop Matt that she got up. Neither was moving and she had to admit, she was worried about both of them. Then Matt stood up first and pulled Jeff up with a steel chair round his neck.

What was he doing? He was going to really hurt Jeff.

She watched in horror as Matt hit the Twist of Fate, then pinned his brother for a win.

She was in the ring immediately, even though Jeff had told her to stay in her seat. Jeff wasn't moving. She had to check that he was alright. For her job, of course. Not because she actually cared.

"I'm alright. Get out of here," Jeff said breathlessly, wincing in pain.

"You boys are really crazy. The sooner you retire the better," she said, ignoring the fact that her heartbeat had started to return to normal when he had spoken.

She looked up at Matt, who'd been celebrating his big win and saw the evil smirk on his face. He was in character, of course, but she still got an uneasy feeling, especially when he slowly started walking towards her.

What was happening here? No one had told her of any changes in the script. What was Matt up to?

She got to her feet and slowly backed away, confused. Was she supposed to run? Stand her ground?

Before she could decide, Matt landed a boot in her stomach.

_Her stomach._

She dropped to her knees in horror, hands on her stomach as one thought kept going round and round in her head.

Her baby...

* * *

"What the _hell_ are you doing?" Jeff screamed, shoving his brother away as he knelt next to Keri.

They should have warned him. They should have warned Keri. How could Matt agree to this?

Matt slid out of the ring, still smirking. The look Jeff threw his brother was genuinely heated. He'd never tolerated anyone using physical violence against Keri. He wasn't about to start now.

After watching his brother making his exit, he slid out of the ring and pulled Keri out before picking her up bridal style, even though his body was screaming in pain.

"Jeff..." Keri whispered.

She was still clutching her stomach and looked like she was in shock.

"Hang on. I'll get you out of here," he said, all the while thinking of ways to murder his brother.

"I have to tell you something," she said, sounding really scared.

But they were backstage by then and Matt descended on them immediately, followed quickly by a trainer and that big eared Orton. He didn't get a chance to hear what she had to say.

But that wasn't important right now. What mattered was getting his hands on his brother, even if it meant handing Keri over to an anxious looking Orton.

**AN/ Thank you all for being patient with me. It was a complicated pregnancy, then baby was late, then we had to stay in the hospital for almost 3 weeks and then we had to move. My internet hasn't been connected yet so updates may still be a bit sketchy till then but hopefully things will settle soon.**

**Thank you for reading and reviewing. It's after one in the morning and as I run on fumes as it is due to looking after the kids, I'm completely fucked. Pardon my French. So I promise I will say individual thank yous in the next chapter and I'll reply all the PMs.**

**Look out for an update to Amazing Grace real soon. It's halfway done.**

**You're awesome. Much love.**

**Baybie.**


	25. Chapter 25

Randy put her down on the table in the Trainer's room and growled, "She's pregnant."

The trainer, who hadn't seen what the fuss was about since all Keri had got was a boot in the stomach – not even that hard – immediately sprang to action.

"Do you feel any cramping? And nausea? Or pain in your lower back?" he asked, laying her down so he could examine her stomach.

"No," Keri whispered.

She was holding onto Randy's hand, fear crippling her. Was she being punished? Was she not meant to have this child? She should have told Vince like Randy had told her to. This was all her fault. She hadn't even had the baby yet, but already she'd proved Jeff right. She wouldn't be a good mother. She couldn't keep her baby safe in her stomach, what chance did it have when it was born?

"How far along are you?"

"Fourteen weeks," she whispered.

"We need to get you to a hospital straight away," the trainer said. "The doctors there will do a scan."

"Am I losing my baby?" she whispered.

"I'm afraid I can't say for sure. A scan will show if there's anything wrong. I'll arrange the transport now."

"I'll come with you," Randy said to her as the trainer walked away to make the call.

"You still have your match_"

"Mine is the last one. There are three matches to go. We'll take Ted and Cody with us, if I need to leave you there at least you'll have someone there till I can come back," he cut in.

She swallowed and nodded. She needed him there, since he was the only one who knew about the baby.

"Everything will be okay," he said, pulling her into an embrace.

She wished she could believe that.

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking? You should have warned us."

"Vince didn't give me that option_"

"You could have fucking hurt her!" Jeff snarled, pacing so he wouldn't actually attack his brother.

"Calm down, Jeff. She wasn't hurt," Shane said, standing beside Matt and Shannon.

"She could have been."

"You know, for someone who claims not to give a shit about her, you're actually proving otherwise," Shannon quipped.

"Now's not the time, Reject," Jeff growled.

"Relax, bro. She's fine," Matt said again.

But they saw her coming out of the Trainer's room, her arms around Randy's waist, looking like he'd never seen before. Randy had one arm protectively over her shoulder as he used the other hand to bark orders at the unfortunate person on the other end of his cell phone. And Jeff had to think hard, as he'd never seen that expression on The Vipers face before, but it looked like Randy was worried and _scared_. The man who always spat in the face of danger was scared.

He suddenly got a very bad feeling.

"Does it look like she's fine to you?" he snapped at his friends before hurriedly making his way to Keri.

The second she saw him approaching she tensed and tightened her hold on Randy. He bit down an expletive. Now wasn't the time to go all territorial. Something was obviously wrong.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," Keri answered.

"Let me take you back to the hotel_"

"No!" Keri cut in sharply. "I... I'm going to hang out with Randy."

"Keri, maybe you..." Randy started, but Keri silenced him with a look.

Randy looked at him almost sympathetically for a second before leading Keri away.

Jeff had an uneasy feeling that whatever Randy had been about to say was very important.

"Is she alright?" Matt asked as he came to stand beside him, watching as Randy and Keri walked away.

"Something's wrong."

He could feel it.

"You're imagining things again, dude. Come on. Let's go watch the rest of the show. If she needs us she'll find us," Shane said.

Imagining things _again_. The last time he'd felt something was wrong with her she'd turned out to be pregnant. With his child.

But of course, he couldn't tell the guys that.

* * *

Keri came back from the hospital completely exhausted from her emotional upheaval, even though it had only lasted an hour at the most. The hospital was only a few minutes away from the arena and she'd been seen almost straight away, probably because Randy's large frame pacing up and down the waiting room – in Viper mode, of course – had intimidated the shit out of everyone.

"You should have gone back to the hotel," Randy muttered as he led her down the hallways of the arena. "You heard what the doctor said."

"I'm fine. Stop stressing," Keri said, pushing him towards his locker room. "Go get your gear on. I'll be with Reject and the rest of the gang, watching the rest of the show. Call me when you're ready to go."

Randy stopped by his door and turned to face her.

"You should tell him," he said seriously. "He has a right to know. After what happened tonight... I just think you need him."

"Who's side are you on?" she asked, though her voice was resigned.

"The baby's," Randy said softly, then gave her a little smile before disappearing into his room.

Keri sighed before turning to head to Matt's locker room. She bumped into the cameraman who'd done her promos earlier and muttered an apology. If she'd been paying closer attention she would have noticed he'd been everywhere she'd been that day, but her head was elsewhere.

The whole time she'd waited for the doctor and the scan that would show if her baby's heart was still beating, she'd been thinking and praying and making promises. It was obvious to her now that Jeff had been right. She'd be no good as a mother, as the sole protector of such a precious little thing. No matter how much she wanted the baby to love her, no matter how much she wanted to do right by it, she wouldn't be able to do it on her own. Putting her baby's life at risk... well, it had put a few things in perspective. So she'd promised herself, if her baby lived, she'd tell Jeff. He'd take care of his child. Whether he poisoned the baby's mind against her or not, he'd always take care of his child, always protect it, the way he'd always protected her.

That was the important thing. The main thing.

* * *

Jeff looked at his watch for the hundredth time, trying to judge if enough time had passed for him to just drag Keri back to her room. They needed to talk – clear the air once and for all.

He was going to ask if they could be exclusive, even though they didn't really have a relationship in the first place. He didn't like that she was sleeping with Randy, too. Imagining them together was driving him insane. So while this thing between them lasted, while it burned so strongly in his blood, she had to be his exclusively. Until he didn't want her anymore.

_But what if he never stopped wanting her?_

He didn't want to scrutinise that statement any further. Already, between spending the whole night with her and all the statements his friends were making, he'd had to bury a lot of things that he didn't want to look at too closely.

"Just go find her and drag her to your room like you did last night," Shannon grinned when he noticed him look at his watch again. "In front of the whole fucking world."

"Shut up," he muttered.

He'd been right to assume there would be pictures of that on the internet but he didn't really care.

"Or go tell Randy that 'if he ever puts his hands on her ever again you'll cut his balls off.'," Shane laughed.

He vaguely remembered saying that to one of Keri's ex-boyfriends before he'd beat the crap out of him.

"Frankly, I'm surprised you haven't attacked Randy yet. It normally takes you just a couple of hours," Matt added.

"What are you talking about? I don't just attack her boyfriends. Only the scum who hurt her," he protested.

The three of them turned to look at him in amusement.

"What?" he asked.

"We're not denying that most of her boyfriends have been scum, but you beat most of them up before they've done anything to deserve it," Shannon laughed.

"Do not!"

"Remember that French dude? He'd only been in the house ten minutes before you beat him up," Matt chuckled.

"You didn't see what he did_"

"He looked at her wrong. That's what you said, isn't it?" Shane laughed.

"Well, he did."

"What about that guy from up the road? He didn't make it through the gate," Shannon said.

"Because I know him! He'd have fucking raped Keri then stolen all our shit without any of us being any wiser!"

They laughed at him again and he still didn't get what was so fucking funny. He'd only been looking out for her, just as they all did.

"Matt, I don't know why you're laughing. You're overprotective of her," he pointed out.

They laughed again.

"Nah, dude. Matt is protective of her, just like we are, in a good, normal way. You, Jeff, are overprotective. You're ready to kill someone of they even look at her."

Because he saw the look in the men's eyes, of course it made him mad. But that was only because he wanted her for himself; to be the one to fuck her at his pleasure. _Not_ because he was in love with her.

"Face it, dude. You're in love," Shane chuckled. "You've fallen so hard it ain't even funny."

Something jarred inside him as it had been doing all day. Something scary. Something disturbing. Something that made him go on the defensive.

"I'm not! Keri's the last person I'd fall in love with. She's completely wrong in everyway. She's not trustworthy; she lies; she'd sell her soul to get what she wants. She's a nasty piece of work, she gives me grey hairs, she's crazy, she doesn't know when to shut the fuck up, and if it wasn't for the fact that I like fucking her, I'd stay as far away from her as possible. I fucking hate her!"

Of course, none of that was true, and he probably shouldn't have said anything about fucking her. But before he could say a word to apologise, he heard the soft gasp behind him.

Something inside him broke even before he turned to see the look in her eyes.

"Keri..."

Fuck.

"I... ah... I'll see you guys later," she whispered, turning away quickly.

"Keri, wait."

He stood up quickly to follow her, his heart hammering in his chest for a reason he couldn't explain. He said stuff like that about her all the time – even worse than that - to her face. She normally said something nastier back to balance things out. But saying it now, after everything they'd been through, it just seemed so wrong. Saying that, after the tenderness they'd shared last night...

"Keri!"

She didn't look back once as she half walked-half jogged down the hallway with him close behind.

"I didn't mean it," he confessed. "Please stop. Talk to me."

"I think I spoken to you enough for one lifetime," she said wearily.

Something about her voice sounded final. It scared him. It made him think.

What if Keri decided she didn't want to be around him anymore? What if he never saw her again? Would he get through that?

"Don't say that. Please," he said, some of his desperation sounding in his voice.

"I'm tired, Jeff. I can't do this anymore."

"Let's go somewhere we can talk," he suggested urgently.

She stopped suddenly and turned back, making him almost collide into her.

"I know you hate me, Jeff. I don't know what I ever did wrong... how things got so complicated_"

"You did nothing wrong. I know that now."

She shook her head and looked away from him, unshed tears shimmering in her hazel eyes.

"We're always going to fight. We're always going to say such hateful things about each other. I knew this. I thought I could handle it, but..."

"Keri, you sound like you're saying goodbye."

"Maybe I am," she answered sadly before turning to her side and knocking urgently on a door.

"Keri, we have too much to talk about. Last night_"

"Was a mistake. And you just proved it."

The door opened, and he was shocked to see Taker standing there, still sweaty from his match with Shawn and looking very pissed. Very pissed and very scary. But it didn't seem to faze Keri. She just pushed past him to let herself into the room while he stood, face to face with the Dead Man.

"I think the girl doesn't want to see you," Taker growled.

"Um..."

"Beat it, kid," Taker growled again, this time turning so he could close the door.

"Mark, please," he said quickly. "I need to talk to her."

Mark looked into the room, then back at him.

"Beat it," he repeated, then slammed the door in his face.

* * *

"I'd say another week," Shannon said as they watched the door where Jeff and Keri had just rushed through. "Jeff's going to admit he loves her."

"I'm not betting with you again. You probably know something we don't," Shane snorted.

"I'd say a couple of days," Matt said. "Hundred bucks."

"You're not going to beat him up until he says it, are you?" Shannon asked sceptically.

"Of course not. What do you take me for?" Matt asked, then grinned as he opened a bottle of water.

"You scare me sometimes," Shannon said as they all relaxed back into their seats.

Shane looked up at the corner of the room and nodded his head.

"Matt, is that a camera?" he asked.

"Hmm," Matt answered.

"And you didn't think to tell us?"

"The thing is glaringly obvious," Matt dryly. "Besides, we're being paid handsomely for our silence."

"We?" Shane asked.

"Oh, didn't I say? Vince is paying us too," Matt grinned.

* * *

"I messed up real good this time," she whispered, "and the one person who normally solves all my problems is the cause of it. What am I going to do, Marky?"

She sat with her legs hugged to her chest, tears running freely down her face. For once Mark seemed to be paying attention to her. He'd placed a box of tissues and a bottle of water on the table next to her and sat opposite her.

"Has he hurt you?" Mark asked.

Besides the really first time she'd talked to him, this was the first time he'd actually spoken back.

"He always hurts me," she grunted back. "And I hurt him back. I don't know who started it, or how. All I know is that I can't do it anymore."

"So maybe if you talk to him_"

"I can't do that now," she cut in. "I thought I could but..."

"But what?"

"He really hates me, Mark. I know I say that to him all the time but I don't really mean it. But the way he said it tonight... he really hates me. And if I told him the truth now..."

She was going back on her word. A slight chill went through her, as if to warn her that if she didn't do as she'd promised then the next time she really _would_ lose her baby.

"I don't think the boy hates you."

"You don't know him like I do. Trust me on this."

"Assuming he didn't hate you... What would you do?"

"I'd tell him I'm still carrying his child," she answered, wiping her tears again. "I'd ask if he still wants to help me bring our child up."

She actually managed to shock Mark.

"You're pregnant? Didn't Matt kick you in the stomach?"

"Randy took me to the hospital. Baby's fine," she sighed.

"If you hate each other... why the hell are you sleeping with him?"

"I don't know. I don't know how he does it, why it happens. I just... I can't help myself. I slept with him once and all of a sudden everytime I see him I just see a massive cock on legs and just want to impale myself. Maybe it's the hormones."

Mark grinned as he stood up to go through his bag.

"It's not funny. Not even a little bit."

"I think it is," Mark said as he picked up a towel. "For some reason you young 'uns just have to go through all this drama before opening your fucking eyes. I suppose you have to be my age to appreciate your life."

"Ain't nothing about my life worth appreciating," she muttered.

At this, Mark stopped what he was doing to look at her.

"No? What about all these people who seem to care about you for some reason completely unfathomable to me? Matt, who – if I've heard right during your many pointless ramblings – has taken you in since you were a kid? His friends and family who made you a part of them with no questions asked? Even Jeff, who gets you out of trouble everytime – and may I add, these are definitely the actions of someone who hates you – note the sarcasm. And now this baby, when so many out there never get a chance to be mothers."

She looked at him, her eyes wide.

"Well, shit. You _do_ listen to me," she said.

Mark muttered something and walked towards the shower.

"I'll be out in five minutes. If you still need to talk about this I suggest you go find someone else."

"You like me really," she said to him.

He grumbled again but she saw the slight smile on his face as he disappeared into the other room.

Then she sighed and threw her wet tissues into the waste bin.

* * *

Jeff sat in Catering, cradling a cup of the tasteless coffee from the machine. He had a feeling it was crunch time, that Keri really meant what she said this time and if he really wanted it to end, now was the time to let it die.

But he didn't want to let it die. Toxic or not, he really didn't know what he'd do without his relationship with Keri. If only she'd speak to him.

Someone sat down next to him and he was shocked to see it was Maria.

"Ria! Hi," he said, sitting up a bit straighter.

He hadn't spoken to her since the day she'd dumped him and he'd thought it would be a while before she willingly had any contact with him.

"Hi," she answered.

She was subdued, not Maria-like at all; but he supposed that was only to be expected. He'd let her down big time, made too many promises that he hadn't kept. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"How've you been?" he asked.

"Alright. Kinda sick of all these people looking at me with pity but hey," she shrugged.

And it was his fault.

"I'm so sorry, Ria. I never meant to hurt you."

"I know," she said. "In a way I brought it on myself."

"No, you didn't. You didn't deserve any of this."

"Yes I did. I knew you were in love with her from the moment we started going out, when you talked about her constantly. Something about the way your eyes lit up and the little smiles on your face."

"I'm not in love_"

"Yeah, yeah," Ria said, waving his statement off. "And if that didn't open my eyes I would have noticed it when you constantly said her name in your sleep."

Well, shiii...

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, I knew you were in love with her. I just thought you'd end it with me first before acting on your feelings."

"I... I have no excuse for that. I lost my head. I just..."

"You couldn't help yourself," Maria said, finishing his sentence with a wry grimace. "I know. You're a good guy. You wouldn't have hurt me if you could help it."

Why was she being so nice? He didn't deserve it.

He stared awkwardly at his coffee, wishing he hadn't put her in this situation. He should never have started anything with her. Or at least, when he started having those dreams and fantasising about Keri more, he should have ended it. But Ria had been so good for him. She'd grounded him. That was something Keri would never do for him, not in a million years. He'd always have to be the sensible one, the level headed one... and everyone knew that wasn't really his nature.

"You look good together, you know?"

"What?"

"I watched the promo for your new show. You two... you just look right. Even though you were actually fighting."

"What promo?"

Ria grinned.

"I knew it was real! Mickie was saying you were probably just a good actor, but I knew you didn't know they were still filming you."

He groaned and ran his fingers though his hair.

Great. Everyone had seen Keri beat him up. And they'd seen him kiss her. In anger. How many fans was this going to cost him?

"I really hope you two work out, you know," Ria said again. "You've found your love, you should hang on to her."

Why did everyone keep saying this? Why did they presume to know how he felt?

"Well, I don't," he muttered. "I just want this to end so I can be in a nice, _normal_ relationship."

* * *

"All I'm saying is he's just really, really freaky looking. He's kinda hot, though, weird eye and all. Is it real?"

Mark groaned as he continued to pull her along the hallway.

"I thought you were distressed. Aren't you supposed to be all quiet and pathetic, like?"

"Don't be mean, Marky. Anyway, I think you should get Kane to join us. I would really like to get to know him too,"

"If I hated him, I'd probably do that."

"Aw, you say the nicest things."

Mark groaned again as they came to catering. He should never have started talking to her.

He sighed in relief as he saw who he was looking for and pulled Keri in his direction.

"Here. Next time keep her on a leash or something."

He sat Keri down on a chair and turned to walk away.

"See you tomorrow Marky," she called out.

He shook his head without looking back. This girl was ruining his rep.

* * *

Randy sighed and put his coffee down.

"What have you done now? I thought you were supposed to be with Matt."

He saw the look that crossed her eyes and immediately knew something had happened.

"What did Jeff do? Did you tell him?"

"No. And I'm not going to. I can't risk it."

He groaned and sat back in his chair.

"Keri_"

"I can't do it, Randy. I heard him say how much he hates me. I can't... I can't tell him now."

"Tell me what?"

She closed her eyes at the sound of Jeff's voice.

Why was he always popping up at the worst times?

**AN/ Thanks for all your wonderful reviews. Wow. But it's almost one in the morning again and I really have to get to bed. Exhausted. I need a beta. Not proofread. Will have to sort that out soon. And I hear your calls for a sequel to The Bucket List. I also miss Randy hotness. It will just take a while, okay?**

**So... I really don't know what to say about this chapter. Jeff stuck his foot in it again. Made her feel bad about herself again. But will she tell him now? I'm starting to wind this thing down so I hope she does. Kinda had a plan of how it was going to go down written down somewhere on paper but when I started to type it out it went a completely different way.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed it.**

**Much love. **


	26. Chapter 26

Jeff looked over at Keri again as they waited to see Vince. She was determinedly ignoring him, which she had done since the night she had played him for a fool. Just because she now knew what her tears did to him she had purposefully used them. Bitch.

He clenched his jaw as he remembered.

"_Tell me what?"_

_Keri turned slowly, her eyes a mixture of pain, anger and yes, the ever present hate. How anyone could look in her eyes and claim she was in love with him was beyond him._

"_I can't speak to you right now, Jeff."_

"_Well, you have to. What's going on?"_

_She looked away from him._

"_You really need to ask?"_

_Something told him this wasn't about what she'd overheard him say before, but even that needed addressing. He needed to clear the air. But to say what, really? Something told him that his earlier thoughts of them becoming friends and exclusive lovers wouldn't be welcome._

"_Look, I didn't mean that. I just got fed up with everyone saying... stuff," he started. "Let's go somewhere we can talk."_

_He looked at Randy as he said this. Seriously, when was this thing going to die out? She never normally had boyfriends that long. Which only left him one conclusion – she was sleeping with him. Shane could argue about that all he wanted but there really couldn't be any other explanation. Why else would Randy stick around if she wasn't putting out? He'd tasted her, and like him, he'd become addicted. _That_ was why he was sticking around, even knowing another man was doing her too._

_Well, Randy could just go fuck himself. He wasn't sharing anymore._

"_I'm not going anywhere with you," Keri said, looking back at him. "I meant what I said before, Jeff."_

_Then it happened. The biggest, most sparkling beauty of a tear drop formed at the corner of one eye, then slowly rolled down her cheek._

_He took a step forward and stopped, watching as another fell down the other cheek._

"_Keri... Please don't cry," he begged her, his eyes still on her tears, his heart constricting._

"_Leave me alone, Jeff. Why can't you understand...? That's all I want."_

"_I can't leave you alone," he confessed, taking another step forward. "You and me, we're... Please, stop crying."_

_The tears were making him lose his train of thought, making him want nothing more than to hold her and make them stop._

"_There's no 'you and me', there never has been and there never will. I can't handle all this stress Jeff," she said._

_Then the tears started pouring out. This time, he actually held her face between his hands and used his thumb to wipe them away. But they kept coming, the damn things._

"_Don't cry... don't cry, baby," he kept repeating._

_When he realised they weren't stopping, he stepped back and his hand gripped his chest, right above his heart. Why was she doing this? If they'd been alone, he would have made her stop crying the one way he knew how, but like this... Damn._

"_I need you to leave me alone," she said._

_He nodded, swallowing all the objections he had to that statement. Anything to make those damned tears stop._

"_Promise?"_

_He nodded again._

"_I'm spending the night in Randy's room. Don't bother looking for me."_

_At this, he grit his teeth and looked at the man in question. Randy was smirking in amusement, he felt like punching that smirk off his face._

_Did he think he'd won? Did he think it was over?_

"_Come on, Randy. Take me to the hotel," she said._

"_Yes, ma'am," Randy smiled, picking his bag up off the floor and standing up._

"_Keri_"_

_But she turned her face to him again - her beautiful, tearful face – and he couldn't speak again. From the corner of his eyes he saw Randy's smirk widen but he paid it no attention._

_It was only as he watched them go and he saw a similar smirk appear on Keri's face that he realised he'd been played. _

_And the people still sitting around in Catering seemed to have realised he was being played a long, long time back._

_He ignored the laughter and strode to his locker room to get his stuff, determined to follow Keri and get her to talk, tears or no tears._

Only he hadn't found her that night or the next. He'd looked for her everywhere, even enduring his colleagues taunts about his reaction to her tears. Shannon hadn't helped much either. He'd let them all know about the first incident and all of a sudden everyone was calling out 'She's crying at me. Save me.' For once in his life, he really wished his friend was somewhere else! But Shannon had decided to stick around 'to watch the drama' and was flying back with them after the night's taping.

He knew Randy had flown home earlier that morning because Raw had been the previous night so he was determined to speak to Keri now. They had their promo to do before the show and she was supposed to come out ringside with him again so there was no way she could avoid him.

He looked around the room and saw the camera man there. Ever since Maria had told him about what Vince had done – airing him and Keri live at Wrestlemania – he'd noticed the guy around everywhere.

He had to wonder when exactly the man had been told to start filming them. Hopefully not the night of the Hall of Fame Ceremony. His behaviour had been crass, not a true depiction of whom he really was. He didn't steal people's dates. He didn't blackmail them into sleeping with him, certainly not in public toilets. And if Vince got a hold of that, he would certainly air it for the whole world to see.

This reality show thing was looking like a really bad decision with every passing minute.

"Ah! My two favourite people. Come in," Vince said when he finally came out of the room that had been set as his office.

He sounded unnaturally happy.

He looked up at Vince and saw he was indeed in good spirits. That didn't bode well for him and Keri.

With a sigh, he followed Keri in. She was still not looking at him.

* * *

Keri looked down at the instructions in her hand then back at Vince.

It was official. She _had_ sold her soul to the devil.

"Let me get this right. You started filming me _before_ I signed the contract?"

"Uh huh," Vince smiled.

"And because I signed this contract and didn't read the small print, you can use this stuff and I can't do anything about it?"

"Uh huh," Vince smiled again.

She looked at the other side of the room where a man was busy recording them.

"Is there anywhere in my contract that prohibits using violence against you?"

"Yes," Vince smiled.

That irritating smile. She felt like ripping it off his face.

How could he possibly mean to use all the stuff she'd done lately in the stupid show? It was only weeks since she came on the road the first time but so much had happened...

"Um... how far back are we talking here? I mean, I never saw anyone following me around with a camera."

"I'm talking from the day you sang at breakfast in the hotel restaurant. You and Jeff were so intense I felt I should have captured it. And I made sure to get everything since. You didn't see my camera men because you didn't want to see them," Vince laughed. "Jeff, they say you're the observant one. I'm disappointed."

She looked at Jeff for the first time since she had sat down next to him on the chairs set in a room serving as Vince's reception room. He was looking directly at her and he looked a little pale.

She had a feeling she knew why. If anyone knew what really happened the first time they'd fucked, Jeff wouldn't come across too good at all. As much as she hated Jeff right now, that was nobody's business.

"Did you... um... when I went out with a bunch of people the first time... Did you get that?"

"Yes," Vince answered, then he looked at Jeff and said, "All of it. Well, except of course what happened behind closed doors. Though that night both of you were quite... vocal."

"Okay, I've had enough of this bullshit," Jeff said as he stood up. "You can't do that. All that stuff was private. You shouldn't have had us followed without our knowledge."

"I only filmed what everyone else could see. Nothing wrong with that. Besides, you should have read your contracts. And whether you walk out of here right now or not, it won't change the fact that my men will follow you and film you. And once you get home tomorrow, they have permission to set up their cameras. And you'll have to wear the microphones and make sure you do at least two video logs every day – a vlog, isn't it? That's what you young 'uns call them? One by yourselves and another together. Everyday."

"And if we don't?" Keri asked.

"Well, then you'll just have to pay me back the money I gave you. Many times over. That's on top of all the lawyers' fees you'll have to pay when I sue you."

"You're a fucking bastard Vince," she sighed, sinking back into her chair.

"Wait till I make you famous. You'll be thanking me."

"Famous for what? Fucking in inappropriate places?" Jeff growled.

"This is all your fault Jeff. I'll look like a freakin' porn star," she said in distaste.

"Well, from stripping to porn... not a big stretch, is it?"

She looked at him then, really looked at him. Why did he insist on hurting her like this all the time?

"Look_"

"Let me guess. You didn't mean it?" she snarled, picking her bag up and standing up too.

"Keri_"

"No. And Vince, I hope you know I'll be swearing at you any chance I get."

"Carry on, Sweetheart. I have excellent editors."

* * *

"I must say, Jeff, you know just what to say to make me justify how much time and money I've spent on this," Vince had said as he'd slapped him on the back with a big smile on his face. "I mean, all that nastiness... is it deliberate? Do you say stuff like that to make her angry with you? Is the sex better that way?"

Those words had followed him around all day until he'd had to face the fact that he _was_ always, _always_ nasty when it came to Keri. No wonder she'd said she wanted nothing to do with him. No wonder she'd got rid of his baby. She wouldn't have wanted to be tied to him for the rest of her life.

And it really seemed she meant it too, because when she showed up for their promo she hadn't said a word to him. She'd just said what she'd been told to say and left the room. Even when she had to walk to the ring with him, she'd only held his hand as long as was necessary.

And then on the plane and the car ride back home, it had been the same story.

"You're going to have to stay with dad again I'm afraid. Can't have you corrupting Keri under my roof," Matt had grinned, then they'd left him standing on the porch thinking how wrong it was all going.

And it looked like his brother and friends were enjoying this a little too much. As he lay on his bed in his dad's house, he couldn't help resenting them, just a little bit. Yet again, everyone was on Keri's side – the sweet, innocent he'd bullied into bed, the same one who'd aborted his child and ripped his heart out in the process.

He sighed and punched his pillow, trying to get a comfortable position. Keri had him in a mess and he didn't like it. Why did she have to make everything so complicated?

He turned and his eyes landed on the camera that had been installed in his room. Privacy was a thing of the past now, till Vince had what he wanted.

'Enough for at least twelve episodes' he'd said. 'I have a beginning, we're playing out the middle, and soon, I'll have an end.'

Then he'd grinned like a maniac and Jeff hadn't really wanted to ask any more questions.

He remembered the rules he'd been given. And if he didn't follow them then Vince would sue them. He didn't really care if Vince sued him, the man could just whistle for his money as far as he was concerned. But he was worried about Keri. She wouldn't pay him out of Matt's money, so it would mean she'd go back to doing what she'd always done. He didn't want her losing her way again, doing all sorts of shit to earn her money. He certainly didn't want her taking her clothes off for filthy strangers.

He sighed as he gave up on his sleep and walked to where he'd put the bag the camera man had given him – did the guy really need to live with them? Yes, according to Vince. Because apparently his best moments were at night when he just ravished Keri with no thought of the consequences. Well, thanks Vince!

He set the camcorder up, determined not to be the one who'd mess things up.

"Well, I'm supposed to do one of these everyday. Guess I'm supposed to talk about my thoughts and shit. Well, Vince, this one's for you."

He folded his arms and sat back.

Then after a full minute, he reached out and switched the camera off.

Well, nobody could say he didn't hold up his end of the bargain.

* * *

Matt made the coffee and set a mug down in front of Keri before taking his seat across from her at the kitchen table.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I guess," she sighed.

He thought she looked exhausted and found himself cursing his brother a little for stressing her so much.

"We need to talk about this," he said.

His eyes shifted to the camera man across the room. Damn it, did they really have to follow them around everywhere? They'd mounted cameras and microphones in every room and two of them were now occupying one of his guest rooms, their camcorders ever present. And of course there was the mic-pack they were forced to wear so every word they said could be recorded. Jeff and Keri were supposed to wear those every second of the day, except when they went to sleep or were in water. He'd been asked to try to wear his every time as well, but he wasn't being forced to. Good. He was holding on to what little control he had of this situation.

"I don't know. Maybe later," Keri said, turning to look at the man as well. "We could sneak into the bathroom, though I doubt it'll stop that guy."

"We really don't have any privacy any more, do we?"

"I know right," she said in a stage whisper, so loud the camera man could hear it too. "Can't even take a shit without him knowing. I mean, you have to worry all the time, even if you're just having a wee. If you take too long, he'll think you're shitting. And God forbid you actually make any of the normal noises you're allowed to make in there. Vince is so fucked up, he could actually dedicate a whole episode to that, just to show us that he can."

Matt's lips twitched in amusement. The man in question grinned and gave them a 'thumbs up'.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about that now," Matt said. "But we _do_ need to talk."

"I s'pose," Keri sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry for the way I reacted when I found out about you and Jeff. I forgot you're no longer ten and don't need me worrying about you so much. You and Jeff_"

"I don't want to talk about him."

"I know. I just... Well, I guess I wanted you to know that I'm happy he's the one you've chosen, now that I've had time to think about it. I should have seen it coming, really, like the guys said."

"I haven't _chosen_ Jeff!"

"No? Well, he seems to have chosen you. I've never seen him like this with anyone, not even Ria, who he claimed he was going to marry some day."

He saw something shift in her eyes. And he knew why. The girl had always been insecure, and hearing about the girl Jeff had been with wouldn't help.

"You two should talk. Really talk."

It wasn't his place to tell her how his brother felt.

She snorted.

"I'm done talking to him."

"Why? What's he done lately that he hasn't done in the past? In fact, he's done a lot worse to you and you to him. You've always managed to ignore it, what's changed now?"

"Nothing's changed."

"Then why is this hurting you so much?"

"Why are you asking all this, Matt? Actually, why are we talking about this at all?"

"Because you're so insecure about yourself and you shouldn't be. I've always wanted you to be happy, wanted to stop worrying that one day you won't come back home. I want you to be happy, Keri. And I think Jeff will make you happy."

"What planet are you from? The guy gets off on making me miserable."

"Maybe because he can't deal with how he feels."

"Mattie... Thank you for caring about me but right now... I really don't have the energy to deal with Jeff anymore. I'm going to bed now. See you in the morning, okay?"

She stood up and walked round to kiss him on the cheek before walking out of the kitchen. With a sigh, he stood up to wash out their coffee mugs.

That little talk hadn't helped much. Maybe he'd have more luck with Jeff.

* * *

"I have nothing to say, really. Well, except that Vince McMahon is fucked up. He's a first class shit."

She went on like this for another ten minutes until the insults dried out.

"Edit that, Vince!"

Then she switched the camcorder off and looked at the camera hung in the corner of her room.

Was that really necessary? What did they really think they'd achieve by putting a camera in her room. How sick were they? Was this some x-rated reality show or something? Anyway, it wasn't as if she was going to sleep with Jeff anymore so whatever Vince's agenda was, all he'd get in here was her snoring in her sleep.

But an hour later, she still couldn't sleep. She cursed Jeff for the millionth time for bringing all these problems to her door. She'd promised herself she'd tell Jeff she was still pregnant, yet when she'd heard those words, words he said all the time, something had broke inside her. She told herself it was because she didn't really want to tie herself to him if he hated her that strongly. There would be way too much tension between them and that would just fuck the kid up.

But the kid would be fucked if she tried to raise it by herself too.

She punched her pillow and turned over, muttering swear words at no one in particular. Then another hour later, she muttered some more. Her body was tingling. As it always was these days since Jeff had started sleeping with her. And the only time it stopped, even though that was only temporary, was when Jeff made love to her.

No, not made love. Fucked. Dicked. Nailed. Any other word would fit in that sentence besides the phrase 'made love'. What she and Jeff did had nothing to do with love, and that thought strengthened her resolve that she couldn't give in to him anymore, no matter how much she wanted to. Jeff was going to get tired of her then move on to someone else like he said. And because she would always have this baby linking her to him, she would be forced to watch. It was better she stopped this thing now, before she gave him a chance to hurt her. It would be enough that he'd love his child. She could be happy about that.

_But why couldn't he love her too?_

She pushed that thought out of her mind. She didn't want Jeff to love her. She wanted to find a nice, respectful man to love her, one who wouldn't put her down any chance he got. Jeff wasn't that person. It would make things easier if he was, but he just wasn't.

And he would never be.

* * *

"So, I've decided this shit ends today. She can't keep avoiding me like this."

He felt like a dick, talking about this with the cameraman sitting in the passenger seat of his car, but really, who else did he have to talk to? Not that the guy was contributing anything to the conversation. He just sat there with his camera pointed at him, doing the job he was being paid to do. But still, that was better than nothing.

"I'm going to stalk her till she gives in and listens to me," he continued.

But what was he going to say? How was he going to broach the subject of going exclusive?

"I mean, where does she get off acting like I've done her wrong? Do you know what she did to me? I've never felt so hurt in my life," he said. "I have every right to be a dick to her right now. It's only been a week..."

He had to stop to get himself under control. He didn't want to talk about the baby. And he really didn't want it to get out that she'd done something as cruel as that, not when he'd brought it on himself.

"But I can see where she's coming from. I haven't been exactly nice to her in the past so whatever I promised her... well, she was bound to be suspicious."

He drove up Matt's driveway where a few cars were parked.

"Of course. The whole gang has to be here, today of all days," he snorted.

As soon as he said what he had to say, he planned on taking her straight to bed. With all these people here, that might be a bit more difficult than he'd anticipated.

"Oh, and look at that."

Keri had appeared from the back of the house, laughing, looking so good. And she was wearing a short skirt and wife beater – and even from this distance he could tell she was braless.

"How the hell am I supposed to say anything sensible with her looking like that?" he muttered to himself. "She needs to go put some clothes on."

He watched her bend to pick up Lucas – Matt's dog – showing her perfect butt in the process. He groaned at the sight, forgetting that the camera was still on him. His eyes hungrily ate her up, taking in the smooth, slender legs... the juicy butt... the tits...

He groaned again as images of what he'd done to those tits... to every inch of her body... filled his head. How was it that she could do this to him without even trying? He watched her laugh at something Lucas had done and he thought how stunning laughing made her look. And smiling. She looked absolutely gorgeous when she smiled. He wished she'd smile at him, too. He wished he didn't keep saying stupid things to her.

He wished she didn't hate him.

He pulled himself from that line of thought. It was stupid to wish for that. The best he could hope for was for her to like him enough to sleep with him till they could move on. Or even if she couldn't like him, to at least tolerate him for the duration of their relationship.

_Which could last as long as forever... _

He pushed that thought away as well. He didn't even justify it with another thought.

He watched her put Lucas down and laugh again. His chest tightened. It had been days since she'd snuck out of his hotel room. He was aching in ways he hadn't known were possible.

Without thinking, he got out of the car and walked towards her. When she noticed him, he saw her tense and her eyes widened. He could actually see her struggling with herself, her eyes eating him up - as if she missed his body too – even as she took tiny steps back. With every step he took towards her, he could see her nipples hardening. And a particular body part of his hardened in return.

Damn witch.

He took advantage of her distraction by pulling her to him and planting his lips on hers.

Damn it, that felt good!

How had he gone without it for so long? When his lips met hers, she instantly melted into him, moulding her little body against his. He groaned and let his hands mould the rounded butt he'd admired from afar.

He was starved of her. Every cell in his body was clamouring for a taste of her, so much so he had no choice but to pick her up and wrap her legs around his waist before making his way to Matt's front door.

Fuck first. Talk later. Yes, that was a good plan.

* * *

The loud noise at the front door had Matt rushing to investigate, followed closely by Shane and Kimo, and of course, one of the cameramen. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw what had made the noise.

"Ew. I don't think I'll ever get used to that," Shane said.

Jeff and Keri were kissing against his door. Or rather, Jeff was trying to eat Keri. Whatever it was, it looked crazy. He would have thought, with the cameras everywhere they'd be more discreet.

"I think it's sweet," Brandi said as she walked up behind them.

The three men turned to look at her in disgust.

"How can _that_ be _sweet_?" Matt snorted.

"It's young love. Of course it's sweet. I remember when _someone _couldn't keep their hands off me," she commented, eying Shane pointedly.

"Babe, I still can't keep my hands off you. I've just learnt to control myself, that's all," Shane said, giving her a kiss on the cheek and a silly little grin.

"Uh huh. Nice save," she said. "Anyway, leave them alone. Give them a bit of privacy."

"They're almost doing it against my front door! Yes, that definitely screams 'we want privacy'," Matt said sarcastically.

Jeff must have heard them because he then pulled himself and Keri away from the door and started making his way up the stairs. Without letting go of her. Without even taking his lips off hers.

"Your brother's very talented," Kimo stated.

"No he's not. He's very, very stupid. He thinks he can carry on doing this without putting a ring on her finger."

"Calm down, Daddy," Shane chuckled as they made their way back to the kitchen. "Are you sore 'cause you lost the bet? Told you not to bet with Shannon."

"I was just telling this guy that," Shannon said gleefully.

One of the camera crew had asked them to talk about some of the stuff Jeff and Keri had done in the past. Matt had already shown him the two holes Jeff had made on his wall along the hallway around Christmas. He'd asked Jeff to fix it, and to this day, he claimed he had. He'd painted a beautiful portrait of Lucas and hung it over the holes.

He'd also showed the guy what he called the 'miscellaneous room' where he put the stuff Jeff and Keri broke if they were damaged beyond repair during one of their many arguments. He'd found it was easier and time-saving if he just let the pile grow – as it was bound to – and throw the stuff out at the same time.

"About the bet or how you cheated?" Shane snorted.

"Dude, let it go already," Shannon said. "I was just about to tell him how we've been banned from that club we went to a couple of days before Matt's party."

"Yeah. We've been banned from a lot of places," Yuk said mournfully.

"Our local Wal-Mart won't let us in unless we go individually," Shane said.

"Oh, fuck 'em! If they don't want us there, we don't wanna be there. And as for the clubs and shit, a party ain't a party till I run through it," Shannon said dismissively.

"You didn't talk to Jeff for a week after the last time," Brandi pointed out.

"Well, I've had time to think about it now, haven't I? Can we go back to the business at hand now please?"

This went on for another hour, at least, while meat and salads were prepared and the grill was fired up. Matt was sure by the end of the day, the cameramen would know they were among a bunch of lunatics, if they didn't already. He left them by the poolside to bring more refreshments out.

"Matt, a car's just drove up," Shane said with an angry frown as he walked into the kitchen. "Call me when they're gone."

He grabbed a beer and walked towards the back door, muttering angrily to himself. Matt suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Who is it?"

"Her mother. And she's brought that fucking piece of shit with her."

* * *

**AN/ It got way to long, had to stop it here. But some dicking coming right up. Lol. I'm thinking 4 to 5 chapter till this is done and I can think another story.**

**Sorry for the long wait and thank you all for your well wishes. Thank you very much for reading. **

**And for those who reviewed the last few chapters, _' BabY, dannycena42, Bingobaby, Nats22, alana2awesome, stripes31, LegacyChick _(I know how you feel. I'm totally suffering from Randy-withdrawal now. Need to write another one with him getting laid real soon!)_, hardyobsessed88, xSamiliciousx, hOtlilmofo, xoxo olivia, HardyDXEvolutionChick, BourneBetter67, bathpinkdog, TinkerBell658, Elsie Louise, JNHMMH4eva, dehlia666, lluvy love, Mizzy681, HardyPrincesa, TheSkylarbrand, hardycenagrl, littleone999, flames.x, his sweet angel, vipergirl86 _and even _JasmineDB _who couldn't make it past chapter one, YOU ALL HAVE MY APPRECIATION.**


	27. Chapter 27

**It's been that long that I've had to read the whole story to know wtf I was writing about. You'll probably need to do the same. And as I was reading I saw all my vows to update soon and all that and realised I'm kinda full of sh**. For this, I apologise.**

**Thank you for your reviews and favs and alerts, especially those who found me while my story was on page 1000 or something...**

**And this one is also for msgemgem.**

**

* * *

**Jeff struggled up the stairs because his hands were trying to be in many places at once, as well as keeping her hot, little body plastered to his. The heat of her mouth was making his blood boil, her hands in his hair keeping his mouth fused to hers. His hand kept catching on the microphone pack she had clipped on the back of her skirt so he roughly pulled it off and threw it somewhere along the hallway. But it made him conscious of the fact that this was far from a private moment. He pulled his own off, too, his ardour cooling a little as he thought of all the cameras and microphones mounted in every room.

Finally he made it into her room and pinned her to the door, trying to slow things down so he could see where the cameras where and destroy them. _No way_ was he letting Vince have footage of this.

"Keri," he started, but she pulled his head down to her again, tightening her legs around him as if she thought he was about to stop.

Yeah, as if that was possible!

He obliged for a while, all the while knowing the longer she kept kissing him the more danger there was that Vince would own a sex tape.

He reluctantly pulled his lips away to try again.

"We need to_"

Her lips cut him off again, and it dawned on him that she was taking control. Her hot lips left a larva trail along his jaw, down the side of his neck, and he let out a low growl of approval. He loved those rare occasions when she touched him. Her hands left his hair to lift the hem of his top and he hissed as her fingers came into contact with his skin. Slowly, unbearably so, they started going up; past his abs till they got to his nipples. He'd always thought sensitive tits were a girl thing, but Keri tugging on his nipples shot a ripple of sensation through him that had him weakening at the knees. And with her mouth was still on his neck, she gently bit him before sucking, shooting another jolt through his body that he felt to his toes.

She was playing his body to her tune. Part of him wondered if Randy had taught her these moves but he pushed that thought aside. He and Kat weren't exclusive, they weren't even going out. Yet. After they had their little talk and she agreed, then he would have the right to get jealous when she looked at other men.

Her fingers stopped playing with his nipples and made their way to his back then slowly into his jeans and boxers to cup his naked cheeks. He let out a helpless groan of surrender as he fused himself to her once more, pushing his painfully hard erection between her open legs.

One of her hands left his butt and came to the front, gently stroking the hard length beneath the jeans. He tensed, knowing if he didn't stop her now, he'd have to undo his jeans and plunge into her with no thoughts whatsoever of the cameras.

But she lifted her head and met his eyes, still playing with him between their bodies, snapping the last bit of control that he had. He only hoped his big t-shirt was providing enough cover from the cameras, wherever they were, because he knew there was no way he could stop now.

He felt her fingers slowly, silently, sneakily pull the zip of his jeans down while she continued to look into his eyes, the hint of colour in her cheeks betraying how turned on she was. Then she freed him from his confines and another helpless sound escaped him.

The whole time, his eyes never left hers, never stopped reading the absolute pleasure she was getting from touching him. And through it all, he felt like he was falling, drowning... free. It was terrifying. Something was happening that he couldn't understand, something he had fought for so long, ignored for so long that he knew instinctively that he should still fight it. But her face... her eyes... _her hands_ were making him weak, making it impossible. Webs were clearing, revealing all the things he had hidden, all the feelings he had hidden, sorting them from the jumble they were. And, stripped bare as he was by the strong feelings Keri always roused in him, he was powerless to stop it.

"Don't make a sound," Keri whispered with a naughty smile as she touched him.

It was the smile that did it.

It shifted the last of his confused thoughts until the truth glared at him.

_He was in love with her_.

Somewhere down the line, he had fallen in love with her, just as everyone kept telling him. The realisation shocked him; it shook him, made him stare at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. How had this happened? He was in love. And since he was being honest with himself for a change, he realised he'd been in love with her for a long time. He just hadn't wanted to admit it, because falling in love with Keri... Well, it couldn't end well, not when he knew she didn't love him, too.

Keri pulled his head down for another kiss and he complied meekly, still reeling from his revelation.

And as her lips met his, he felt her use the tip of his dick to push her panties aside, and then she swallowed his cry when she slowly - agonisingly slowly - impaled herself.

"Shhh. Don't move," she whispered in his ear, making him shiver as her feet locked behind him.

It was only then that he knew for sure that the cameras couldn't see what she was doing, and when he looked up, he saw that the one camera in the room was in the corner to his left, angled mainly on the bed. It would only catch a little bit of them, certainly not the bit hidden underneath his top and her skirt.

But it was painful not to move as she was asking when he was craving some friction inside her tight body. He contented himself with leaning into her so he went as deep as he could, but her locked legs prevented him from pulling out again to repeat the satisfying action. It was torture. Sweet torture.

"Keri," he growled.

It would take only seconds to get rid of the camera. He would bear the consequences of that later.

Keri silenced him again and this time, he felt her muscles tighten, choking his dick, then releasing it again. Heavenly torture. He took over the kiss, his tongue demanding as he did with it what he couldn't do with his penis. Keri repeated her action, and again. And when she did it again, her back arched against the door and he felt her muscles quiver, triggering his own climax, one so powerful that he had to throw his head back and call out her name.

How long had he lasted? Seconds?

He had to laugh at himself at that as he brought his lips to hers again, still throbbing inside her body. The body he was in love with... the woman he was in love with. Maybe everyone was right. She wouldn't let him do this if she had no real feelings for her, would she? Maybe if he admitted how he felt she would tell him she loved him, too. That's what normally happened in the movies, right?

"Keri, I... I think..."

What was he supposed to do? Just say it? He'd spent over a decade telling her how much he hated her. Would she believe him if he told her he loved her? Probably not.

"I... You and me..."

Stuttering was not a good start to this. How did one go about saying 'I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.'? She probably wouldn't even welcome hearing those words. But they were true. He had realised no one would ever match Keri sexually from the very first time he'd slept with her. Now, knowing some of that intensity must have been because he was in love with her, he knew there was no other option but to make her his in every sense of the word, mark her for all the Randys of the world to see. When he did things, he never did them in halves – what was the point in that? So she needed to become his wife.

If only it were that simple.

"What is it?" she whispered.

No, he couldn't tell her like this. At the worst, she'd tell him to fuck off; at the best she would think he was saying it in the heat of the moment because he was still inside her. What he needed was a plan. His past girlfriends always told him how romantic he was, maybe he could throw down some of that Hardy magic before he told her how he felt.

"We'll talk later," he smiled, and then brought his lips down to hers again.

Keri loosened her legs and brought them down, and he had to reluctantly come out of her and release her.

He took one look at her and said, "Stand right there. Don't move," as he tucked himself back into his jeans, hopefully with as much stealth as she had taken him out.

Even though they hadn't done anything vigorous, she still looked like she'd been fucked to heaven and back. There was _no way_ he was going to let Vince's camera get her looking like that!

As he'd thought, knocking the camera off the wall was easy, then he pulled his top off and threw it on top of it, just in case the damn thing was still working. Then he slowly walked back to Keri.

He was nowhere near done with her. This party was just beginning.

* * *

Keri licked her lips at the sight of Jeff's naked torso.

What was it about the man that made her want to just lick him all over? Maybe it was her hormones. Instead of craving ice-cream or something, her pregnant body craved Jeff.

At least she hoped it was the hormones. She didn't like to think that she might feel this way for the rest of her life, especially since she knew how much he hated her.

But looking at him now, looking at the way his chest rapidly went up and down, the intensity of his emerald gaze, hooded by heavy eyelids, one could be forgiven to think he actually cared about her. That was probably what made sleeping with him so good, the fact that he couldn't hide how much he wanted her.

Had he always looked at her like this? Looking back, yes, he had. She just hadn't known what it meant.

"You're so beautiful," Jeff whispered reverently, bringing his hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear.

She felt a pang of satisfaction that his hand was shaking. It was comforting to know that she wasn't the only one overwhelmed by these feelings.

"Quit saying that. You don't need to. You already got what you wanted."

"And what is it I wanted?" he asked.

"Do I need to spell it out for you?"

"Well, I can't deny that I want that, too," he answered with a smirk as he took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips. "But I want more than that. A woman like you deserves to be treated like a queen."

"A woman like me?"

"Strong. Loyal_"

"What the fuck is going on here?" she cut in, frowning at him suspiciously.

He was so contradictory. One minute he was assuring their friends that he hated her, the next he was treating her like something special, being all charming and flirty and shit.

"When someone compliments you, you're supposed to accept graciously," Jeff chuckled, pulling her against his naked chest.

She tried to ignore the sparks because she needed her head in the game. Jeff was acting weirder than usual, there had to be a reason, a catch.

"And since when do you compliment me?"

"Since I decided to just cut the bullshit," Jeff answered. "What we have isn't going to go away, Keri. Maybe it's time we stopped fighting it."

What did he mean by that statement? Was he going to play nice until he got tired of her? And was that necessarily a bad thing? It could be, if she allowed herself to feel hope that maybe he might feel something more.

But she realised that, with the baby coming, all she had was hope. Hope that everything would be okay, hope that Jeff would step up and be the person she needed. And she already knew he could never be the person she needed, not in the way that mattered. Sex was just sex.

She bit her lip as she looked up into his eyes, eyes that were smiling at her for a change.

It was tempting. _He_ was tempting... But she had to look at the bigger picture here; she had to think of the future. Accepting what he wanted right now would just make it easier for him to hurt her. Especially when he found out she was still carrying his child. He'd get so angry... He already thought she'd be a bad mother, he'd think nothing of taking her child away.

As all her insecurities returned, she realised she wouldn't be able to take it if Jeff hurt her again. Because no matter what she said, he was already more important to her than everyone else in her life.

She pushed herself out of his arms, feeling miserable that no matter what she decided, the end result would be the same.

"What's wrong?" Jeff asked, trying to take her hand again.

"I... I can't do this," she whispered.

"Do what?" Jeff frowned.

"This!" she said, snatching her hands from her.

"You don't want to hold hands?"

"No! I mean, yes, but that's not what I mean," she said as she checked that her clothes were in order. "You can't keep doing this to me. It's not fair."

* * *

Jeff was aware that something had gone very wrong. And he needed to tread very gently if he wanted this to work.

"Not fair? Sweetheart_"

"Don't call me that. I'm not your sweetheart. I'm just someone you hate who you can't stop sleeping with."

"And if you listen to that statement you'll realise it makes no sense whatsoever," he pointed out.

"None of this makes sense! You say one thing and do another. I never know what to expect. And you keep hurting me," Keri said. "You keep saying the most horrible things, and if I had any sense I'd stay away from you."

Stay away from him? No, he couldn't let that happen.

"No, don't do that," he pleaded. "We just need to talk, that's all. I know I've hurt you, and I'm really sorry. Why don't we sit down?"

Maybe now was as good a time as any to admit how he felt.

"No, I'm not falling for your bullshit again," Keri said as she turned around and opened the door. "You do it all the time; I believe you and the next moment you're hurting me again."

"Keri, come on," he said as he followed her out, forgetting to put his t-shirt back on. "Let's talk about this. I wanna be with you. Are you saying you don't want to be with me?"

"No, I don't. Sleeping with you will always be the worst mistake I ever made," she threw back.

Oh, wow. And there it was. The reason he hadn't wanted to admit he was in love with her in the first place. She could crush his heart into pieces with her words alone.

"You don't mean that."

She _couldn't_ mean that.

"Yes, I do. I think I should go. It'll be better for everyone."

"No! Keri, you can't just go."

He'd just accepted he loved her, for crying out loud, now she wanted to leave him? Okay, so he hadn't got round to asking her out officially, but if she could just sit down and let him talk...

"I think it's for the best. Maybe next time I visit all of this insanity will be behind us."

He followed her down the stairs, panicking at her words. There had been a few times the past few days when he had feared she had truly had enough of him and would just walk away. Now it seemed it was actually happening, and he couldn't think of a way to stop it.

"Why are you doing this to me?" he pleaded.

"Because you confuse me, you stress me. I can't have that right now," Keri shouted.

He knew that, he knew he could be majorly unreasonable when it came to Keri, but he was willing to make it right. He was _going_ to make it right. All he needed was a chance.

"We can talk about this. We can work it out. I promise I won't stress you anymore."

Did it mean nothing to her that he was begging her?

Keri shook her head and kept walking. Not for the first time did he wish the cameras weren't following them. He wanted to ask if this was because of the baby they had lost. They'd never got to talk about that properly, he'd been too angry. But they could talk now; he would tell her he understood her reasons. Then he'd promise to stick by her no matter what.

"Baby, please... Let's talk," he begged again.

He saw his brother and Shannon at the foot of the stairs, like they were waiting for them. He caught none of the anger that seemed to have settled in the room as he focussed on Keri.

"Why are you doing this to me?" he whispered again.

"Because I can't be near you anymore," Keri shouted, stopping suddenly at the foot of the stairs to turn to him.

"Just give me a chance, Keri. One chance, that's all I'm asking for."

He saw the look on her face. Conflict? Regret? He couldn't quite catch it as Shannon came forward and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Maybe you should continue this another time," Shannon said seriously. "Your mother is waiting in the kitchen."

Her mother? Donna Christos had never before set a foot in the house where her daughter lived. As far as he knew, she never even called her on the phone. So what the hell was she doing here? And why had she been allowed in?

He saw Matt looking outside the windows, his jaws locked the way they did when he was angry and his fists clenched. Kimo stood a little away, as if to stop Matt if he tried to do anything. And the cameraman and sound guy were happily doing their job. Little shits.

He didn't have a good feeling about the whole situation.

As Keri turned to walk to the kitchen, he put his hand on her arm to stop her. What if her mother was here to make amends? Keri had already stated she wanted to leave, if her mother offered her shelter, she would jump at the chance. He would never see her again.

"Wait," he pleaded. "Don't make any hasty decisions, okay? At least sit down with me and we'll talk."

Keri shook her head.

"Whatever my mother says today, I'm still going to leave. I'm done here, Jeff."

"If you need space, I'll go to Dad's. I don't want to scare you away."

"_I have to go!"_ she screamed.

"_Why?_"

"_Because I'm still pregnant_!" she screamed again. "And the last thing I want is to bring a child in the middle of this."

Still pregnant...

His first reaction was acute satisfaction. She was still going to have his baby? They were going to be a family? The woman he loved was going to give him a child, and he'd love both of them till the day he died. All he had to do was confess his love. There was no way Keri would say no to him now.

But only a split second later he realised something. If he told her how she felt now, she would always believe he had said it only because of the baby. She would never believe he was telling the truth. She would get angry; tell him how much she hated him. Then she'd still leave...

"Fuck..." he whispered.

And by the fallen look on her face, he realised that was absolutely the worst word that could have come out of his mouth.

He was fucked.

* * *

**A surprise coming soon. And I know I shouldn't use that word because when I write it, it tends to mean months from now or somethin' like that. Maybe I should just say, 'I'll have a surprise for everyone next time I update...'**


	28. Chapter 28

**Thanks guys. Really appreciate the reviews and alerts and favs. I'm still working on the surprise. It's ridiculously hard to get the right voice for it so I don't ruin the whole thing. But it's coming. In the meantime, enjoy...**

**This one is for **_**I am M.J **_**(You like that? Lol)**

Jeff watched Keri turn away and rush towards the kitchen.

"Keri, wait," he pleaded.

He would have rushed towards her too if Shannon hadn't blocked his path.

"Let me talk to her. I didn't mean it like that," he pleaded.

"It seems all you do is say things you don't mean," Matt growled.

He looked towards his brother and noticed that Kimo had now moved to stand between them, as if he was now protecting him. And judging on the look on Matt's face, he needed protection.

But his brother's anger didn't scare him. What scared him was the thought that he had quite possibly blown everything with Keri.

"Shit," he whispered as he sank down to sit on the last step. "I've lost her."

"Well, what did you expect?" Shannon snapped. "You knocked her up? How stupid could you be? You guys aren't anywhere near ready for that shit!"

"Yes, we are," he argued.

"How can you say that after you've just near enough said that you don't want a baby?" Kimo snapped.

"I _do_ want it. I wanted it before I even knew it was mine. But she didn't want to have a child with me, she told me she'd got rid of it," he explained, closing his eyes as he started feeling the beginnings of what he guessed was going to be a major heartbreak. "I begged her to keep it, I promised her I'd be there for both of them... but she didn't want me. She _doesn't _want me."

That had to be it, right? The whole reason she had lied to him was because she despised him that much that she would have had his baby without his knowledge. That was why she had been so adamant that she had to go.

That hurt.

That hurt so fucking much.

"So why...?" Shannon asked, shaking his head as he pointed in the direction Keri had run to.

"Because I can't seem to do anything right when it comes to Keri," he sighed. "I was going to tell her how I feel. When she said she was still carrying my baby, for a second I was incredibly happy. I thought she was finally going to be mine. But I should have told her how I feel first because she's never going to believe me now. But maybe it's for the best. She lied to me about the baby so she probably knows I'll never be good enough for her. If I'd told her, she would have broken my heart anyway."

Kimo sighed and moved away to stand by the front door again.

"You're incredibly stupid," Shannon said as he moved away, too. "Honestly, how can someone be so stupid?"

"She fucking hates me. I can't expect her to love me just like that," he argued.

"_You_ did," Kimo pointed out. "One minute you hate her guts, the next you love her."

"It took me _years_, Kimo. I've fought it for years. I can't expect her to feel the same overnight."

Shannon shook her head and turned away.

"Like I said; stupid," Shannon said. "I'm going to check on Shane just in case he decides he wants to be a hero again."

Shane. He remembered Matt saying Keri hadn't spoken to him for six months once when he had tried to deal with her family.

He looked up at Matt. He hadn't moved from his spot by the window, his fists were still clenched and his jaw was locked. He had been that angry even before Keri had screamed to everyone that she was pregnant, so angry that even the fact that it seemed like he didn't want the baby had failed to move him from his spot.

He had expected a violent reaction. Instead, all the violence seemed channelled towards something else completely. Something outside.

Frowning, he stood up and walked towards his brother.

"What's going on, Matt?" he asked.

Then he saw him. Keri's sorry excuse of an uncle was leaning on his car as he smoked a cigarette. For some reason was dressed in a suit.

Again, he remembered all the snippets of information he'd caught the past few days. Keri's uncle had hurt her somehow. Enough to make Kimo genuinely scared that Matt could hurt him – level headed Matt who'd never harm anyone unprovoked.

"Matt?"

"Not now, Jeff," Matt growled.

Jeff looked out of the window again, his head working overtime.

Matt had expressed a wish to kill this man. Matt had said Keri had never been safe with this man. Then he had said it wasn't his story to tell. Meaning there was a story so bad that Keri, after all these years, still didn't feel comfortable enough to reveal it.

"No..."

Matt turned his head to meet his eyes. There was so much anger, so much hatred in them that for a moment Jeff was taken aback. But then that anger transferred itself to him.

He had hated the man on sight when he had driven Keri to get her diary. But now he could see that Drew Christos had so much more to answer for. Whatever he had done had scarred the woman he loved for life.

His fists clenched like his brother's as all sorts of vile scenarios flitted though his head. Had it been physical abuse? Or sexual? A man could sexually abuse someone in so many different ways without penetration.

But she'd only been a child...

A lonely, moody child...

"Tell me," he demanded in a harsh whisper.

"I can't."

As Matt said this he took his eyes off the man outside long enough to glance back at the cameras.

Jeff swore. He had forgotten about them. Something momentous was happening, and he couldn't even get to the bottom of it because the whole WWE Universe would know about it, too.

"I know only some of it," Matt whispered, "but it makes me so angry that if I go out there I'd kill him. Maybe it's best if you deal with it."

_Before you know what I know, too. _

That part was unspoken, but Jeff got the message loud and clear. He was being given permission to hurt the guy. Before he, too, got angry enough to actually kill him.

When it came to Keri, he was an expert at acting first and talking later. Beating someone up for treating Keri wrong was something he did constantly. Keri would expect it. If she didn't, well, it didn't really make a difference, did it? She already hated him. He had already lost her – in fact, he'd never actually really had her to start off with.

"Keep those guys in here," he growled to Matt before quickly turning to the door.

But Kimo was blocking him.

"Think about this, Jeff," Kimo warned. "This won't end well."

"If you don't move the fuck out of my way, it won't end well for _you_," he snapped.

"Jeff, you need to put your microphone back on," the sound guy whispered.

"Fuck your microphone," he snapped before turning back to Kimo. "You need to move, Kimo. Right now."

Kimo looked over at Matt, who had come to stand right behind Jeff. It was quite clear to Jeff that Kimo didn't know the whole story, either; otherwise he would have been trying to kill Drew, too.

"You guys know Keri won't like this_"

"Move!"

Kimo clenched his jaw as he looked from one brother to the other. Then he looked thoughtfully out at Drew Christos as the man continued to puff out smoke. When he looked back at them, it was clear wheels were turning in his head.

Then anger mirroring the brother's slowly filtered into his eyes until finally he calmly opened the door for them.

"Pass my... regards," Kimo said. "I'll keep these guys busy."

Jeff didn't need to be told twice; he had slammed the door shut behind him - cutting off the vehement protesting of the camera crew - before Kimo had even finished speaking.

* * *

Keri paused outside the kitchen to compose herself. Jeff was such an ass. After all the drama when she'd lied about the abortion, all the anger... She should have seen it coming, really. He had a sort of pattern going. When they found out she was pregnant, he'd wanted the baby. When they found out it was his, he hadn't wanted it. Then with the whole abortion drama, he'd wanted the baby real bad. And now he'd done a complete 180 turn again. He was so full of bullshit.

Which meant she was on her own.

She pushed all those thoughts from her head so she could concentrate on the immediate drama – because she was sure there was going to be a lot of drama. Donna didn't like the Hardys. And as much as she hated to admit this, Donna didn't like her, either. So what the hell was she doing here?

With a breath, she let herself into the kitchen and came face to face with her stunning mother. She was dressed to kill, hair all done and her make-up immaculate. Anyone looking at her would never believe that she sold her body every night, and that at one point a night with her would have cost more than someone's rent.

It was such a contrast from the last time she had seen her, only a few weeks back.

And just like that, Keri knew this visit wasn't about her. She wasn't about to get the declaration of love she had been waiting for her whole life. Donna was here because, even from her house, she had sniffed out money and opportunity – or someone had told her about the reality show, because she didn't watch wrestling herself.

"Donna. What are you doing here?"

Feeling miserable all over again, she didn't even bother with fake pleasantries.

"Can't a woman visit her child?" Donna smiled as she came forward and kissed her cheek.

She had forgotten what a good actress her mother could be. Looking at the warm way Donna greeted her, one would never guess that this was the first kiss she had ever gotten from her mother – at least the first she could remember. Donna must have kissed her when she was a helpless little baby... right?

"I know I should have called first," Donna continued, "but we were in the area and I thought we could just surprise you."

We?

She got a bad feeling about that. But Donna wouldn't be that stupid that she'd bring Uncle Drew here... would she? No, not with Matt here. Not after what happened when they finally parted ways and Legend became her guardian.

"You been somewhere nice?" she asked, looking at her mother's expensive clothes.

"No, just visiting friends," Donna smiled.

The only friends her mother had were the paying kind.

She awkwardly walked further into the kitchen and tried very hard to ignore the man in the corner, catching every little bit of this moment on his camera.

"Would you like a drink? I'd offer you some food but I'm not allowed to cook here," she muttered as they sat at the table.

"Still useless in the kitchen?" Donna laughed.

It was a beautiful laugh, a practiced one. Donna had had to perfect many feminine wiles to be able to stay in the game as long as she had.

"I'm surprised you remember."

"How could I forget? You're my baby," Donna said as she took her hand.

Keri looked down at the perfectly manicured hand holding hers, wishing there was some truth in the words her mother was saying. But it was all bullshit. She knew it. Donna knew it. But the cameras didn't, and that was probably why Donna was here.

Sighing, she pulled her hand away.

"What do you want, Donna?"

She wasn't about to call her Mother now.

"Well, I feel like we parted on bad terms a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to stop by to apologise but you've been so busy. Congratulations, by the way, on the new job," Donna said. "You best make sure that Victor McMahon doesn't cheat you out of your money."

"Vince. His name is Vince."

Donna waved that correction away, but Keri could see the slight irritation in her eyes. Her mother had never liked being corrected, or talked back to, or talked to at all...

"Has he paid you already?"

Keri sat back in her chair and sighed again. Money. The only reason her mother would talk to her. That and being on TV. A bit of publicity would probably boost her business a bit.

"I'm not going to discuss my finances with you," she stated.

"Fair enough. I just wanted to make sure my baby girl isn't being exploited, that's all," Donna said. "And on that note, I think you should move back home."

"What?"

That was unexpected.

"I don't know why you insist on living with these men, they're not even family. People have been talking about all sorts happening here so I'm worried," Donna continued. "Your room is just the way you left it; we can have you out of here today."

Her room? Where, in the garage?

"_These men_ have been more family to me than you'll ever be," she snapped.

What was wrong with this woman? How could she just turn up like this and expect her to just go along with everything she was saying?

"We can work things out, Keri. Just come home. Please. I miss you."

How could this woman sit there and make it seem as if she was the victim in this whole situation? Was a bit of publicity that important to her that she would say all the things Keri had longed to hear her whole life just to get a few bucks?

If she moved, the cameras would have to follow her, and that would mean they would follow Donna too. Donna would obviously try to get payment for that.

Money. Always about the money.

"You threw me out when I was thirteen. I was spending most nights at the Hardy house from when I was nine. It's a bit too late to miss me now, isn't it... mother?"

She added that last word deliberately. Donna glanced at the cameras then urgently back at her.

"Now isn't the time, Keri."

"No, it isn't. I think you should go."

Donna looked at her as if she hadn't expected that, as if she had thought she was so starved of affection that she would take any crumbs thrown at her.

If it hadn't been for the baby, she probably would have. But she didn't want this woman anywhere near her child.

"Drew was right. We shouldn't have come here," Donna mumbled as she gathered up her bag.

Keri sucked in a breath.

"Uncle Drew? You brought him here?" she whispered.

"Oh, come on!" Donna said with irritation as she got up. "Don't start that nonsense again."

Nonsense. That's what her mother had always believed.

But she had to push past that constant pain in her heart to process the words her mother had just said.

Uncle Drew was _here_.

Matt was here.

_And he was going to kill him!_

Quickly getting to her feet, she rushed out of the kitchen, down the long hallway to the foyer. She almost fainted with relief when she saw Matt still standing by the windows where she'd left him.

She forced her heart to calm down as she took the last few steps to join Matt, thankful that he hadn't done anything stupid – especially since the camera crew was everywhere.

Camera crew...

With a frown, she watched as two of the crew scrambled over a camera that seemed to be in pieces on the floor until one of them shouted for the other to 'get Jason, quick.' She knew Jason was the other camera man who'd come with Jeff.

Jeff...

Her heart racing again, she watched the way Kimo stood blocking the door. Then she looked up at Matt's face... and saw the smile on it.

"What the fuck have you done?" she whispered.

Matt didn't get a chance to reply as Donna finally came into the foyer.

"You lot deserve each other," she spat out as she walked towards the door. "Move out of my fucking way."

Obviously, she was no longer bothered about being nice now that she wasn't going to get her way.

"Don't bother stopping by my house ever again. I'm done with you, Keri."

Keri closed her eyes and breathed in. Donna had been done with her from the moment she had been born. But it still hurt to realise that she would never have the relationship she wanted with her real family. She was truly alone.

Shaking her head, Keri watched as Donna pushed Kimo out of the way and almost took the door off its hinges in her haste to leave.

* * *

Jeff stormed down the porch steps, his anger welling up in him, getting stronger the closer he got to Drew.

The filthy scum... The rotten, diseased ass-wipe... Nobody messed with Keri. _Nobody_.

He didn't care that he was still shirtless but he was aware that cameras had been mounted on every corner of Matt's house to see the comings and goings outside, too. He wasn't even going to get the satisfaction of beating the man to a pulp because there would be undisputable video evidence.

Drew straightened when he saw him approaching, a smile on his face as he put his cigarette out. But the smile quickly turned to fear.

Drew Christos was a small man, not much taller than Keri, so it was no hardship for Jeff to grab him by his neck and slam him against the car.

"What the fuck are you doin'?" Drew spluttered as his hands tried to prise open the fingers locked around his neck.

Jeff leaned down to Drew's ear. The cameras wouldn't catch what he was going to say but he wasn't taking any chances. And he had to make sure that no one saw his or Drew's lips, either, because Vince could easily hire ninja lip-readers with his billions.

No, his words were for Drew alone.

"You like messing with little girls, Drew?" he hissed.

"Now, hang on! That girl's messed up. She still saying that crap?"

"Keri doesn't lie to me. You messed with her, now you have to answer to me."

"She made it all up," Drew denied. "You know what she's like. She'd do anything for a bit of attention_"

"She was only a little girl," he growled, increasing the pressure on Drew's neck a little bit.

"I didn't touch her!"

He tensed. So he'd been right. This man had sexually abused Keri. As rage filled him, he was vaguely aware of tightening his fingers again. He wanted details, but he knew if he got them now he would snap the guy's neck and go to prison. He'd be no good to Keri and his child there.

"Stop... please," Drew wheezed. "It was years ago..."

"You're _admitting_ it?"

"I was in a bad place back then. Please... I can't breathe."

"You were in a bad place..." Jeff shook his head as he repeated the lame excuse.

"I made sure I never... you know..."

Anger blinded him as the older man's words sank in. He'd made sure he never penetrated her. He'd made sure there was no evidence. He'd ruined a child's life, Keri's life... All of a sudden he could see all the possible scenarios, the horrible things this man could have done to Keri.

Monstrous things.

Terrifying things.

The hand tightened of its own accord again. He heard his heart beating in his ears as something took over him, blinded him to everything but the man in his grasp. He was vaguely aware of screaming behind him as he turned his head to look into the man's brown eyes, eyes filled with panic as he slowly took the breath from him.

Then Keri was there, squeezing herself between him and Drew, screaming at him...

It was all happening so fast, yet it seemed to be happening in slow motion. Keri screaming at him to stop, trying to prise his fingers off her uncle... Donna screaming behind them... But he couldn't let go. This man needed to pay for what he'd done.

"Jeff... please, don't do this," Keri screamed.

He looked down into her eyes and everything seemed to fall back into focus.

Fuck... What was he doing?

He released Drew quickly and let him fall to his knees as Keri pushed him back, her arms around his bare torso as if she could actually hold him back if he tried to go for Drew again.

"You're a sick man! You'll be hearing from the police," Donna screamed as she helped her elder brother to his feet.

"You do what you have to do," Jeff growled. "But if they come here, I'll also let them know just how sick your brother is."

"You're full of shit," Donna snapped as she helped Drew into the car.

"See, that's the beauty of reality shows. There's never a private moment. So everything your brother said is all recorded," he bluffed.

He hoped to God the stupid woman wouldn't question how exactly he recorded it. Anyone looking at him could tell he didn't have his microphone pack, and the cameras on the house were too far to have picked anything up.

But Donna didn't question it. In fact, she looked nervously at him, as if she had already known what his brother would have confessed to.

She _knew_...

What the hell sort of mother was she? Had she fought for her child? Defended her child? Or had she just sat back and allowed it to happen?

Looking at Donna now, he guessed it was the latter.

At that moment, he deeply regretted that he couldn't hit women.

He took a step forward, but Keri was still holding on to him, pleading with him with her eyes. And she was shaking. She was terrified of what he would do. The last thing he wanted was to terrify her. He struggled to calm himself down, to bank down the rage within him. Drew would get what was coming to him but not now, not with Keri here.

Why was she protecting the scumbag, though? If she had told him what happened a long time ago, Drew wouldn't still have such a large impact on her life. He'd be dead. Or at least behind bars, hopefully being fucked in the ass for all eternity.

Part of him wondered if he was the reason she had kept this secret. He had pulverised people for less in the past, and most of the time she'd seemed happy for him to do it. But Drew Christos... he would have done something really stupid to avenge Keri. And got life in prison.

So, he had to wonder, too, who she was really protecting. If it was her uncle, then he needed a serious talk with her. If it was him... then maybe there was some truth to what everyone was saying after all. She didn't really hate him. There was a chance she could feel the same way about him.

He put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head, hoping it was the latter. His eyes were still on Donna as she struggled with her brother, and he found himself wishing he had finished what he'd started, but Keri's arms around him reminded him that there was a better way to deal with the situation.

"If you see me around town... you and your disgusting brother... run," he growled. "Keri's mine now. Stay the fuck away from her."

"Keep her," Donna snapped as she rushed to the driver's side.

As the car started up and finally sped down the driveway, Keri visibly relaxed against him. He held her tighter, aware that the rest of the guys had come to stand on the porch to watch the departure, finally allowing the camera crew out to do their job.

"When all of this is over," he said, frowning irritably at the man who held the sound boom above them, "you and I need to have a serious talk. This is something you should never have kept from me."

Keri lifted her face to look at him, and he saw that she was crying. If he had his way, she would never have a reason to cry ever again. It was easy to see why he reacted this way to her tears, now that he'd admitted his feelings. He didn't like it when she hurt. He didn't like anything that made her hurt. And her family hurt her. So from now on he was going to be everything she needed so she wouldn't have to look to her pathetic family again. It didn't matter if he had it wrong, if she didn't love him; she felt enough for him to want to protect him from his actions – that would have to be enough for now.

"I have no one now," she said through her tears.

"You have me. You'll always have me," he whispered, gently wiping her tears away.

But she shook her head, shook his hands away.

"It's not the same. You have your family around you, they love you unconditionally... you'll never understand how I feel."

"I _do_ understand how you feel. But baby, your mother will never be who you want her to be," he said softly. "I think you'll be happier within yourself if you accept this and just be happy with what you have. All your friends. Dad. All those uncles and aunts and cousins who've accepted you as part of the family. Matt. Me."

Keri sobbed and looked away.

"It's not the same," she repeated. "It's not real."

"We can make it real. Then it'll be just you, me and our baby... a proper family," he whispered.

Keri frowned at him. He knew he wasn't making sense to her – especially considering that the last word he had said to her before he'd had to deal with Drew had been 'Fuck!' - but what he was offering was the best solution. She would see that, too.

"What do you mean?"

He took a breath. It was time to jump in. He had to know one way or another. And even if she didn't love him, he knew she needed him. That would suit him fine for now. All he had to do was appeal to her sense of family... It was what she wanted most in the world, after all, if the revelations of the past few weeks were anything to go by. And this way, he could also see to it that Drew Christos never came near her again.

"We should get married."

Then for the second time that day, he watched her face crumple as the loudest sob escaped her lips.

Again, he realised he had somehow said the wrong thing.

Fuck.


	29. Chapter 29

**I know it's shocking. So many updates... What can I say? When it flows, it flows... lol. Already working on the next one, though with the weekend and my dreaded birthday coming up you might have to wait until I come out of a JD induced coma... **

Jeff felt the sharp sting to his very heart as Keri's palm connected with his cheek. Then, hand on his cheek, he watched as she turned around and walked away till she turned the corner. He knew where she was going, of course; down by the creek where she always went when she had a lot on her mind.

"What the fuck..." he whispered.

"Really?" Shannon asked. "We should get married?"

Jeff looked up at the porch, remembering that they had had an audience. And of course, his humiliation was all on tape for Vince to play with however he wanted.

"That's what she's always wanted. You guys told me so!" he argued.

Apparently, that wasn't true; otherwise she would have jumped at the chance.

"Now, I'm not saying I'm smarter than you or anything, but here's what I heard," Kimo said. "Keri: 'I'm pregnant, I'm having your child Jeff and this situation is too fucked up for me to handle.' Jeff: 'I knocked you up? Fuuuuuccccckkkk! I don't want kids with you, I only wanna use you.'"

"That's not how it happened!" Jeff shouted.

"You knocked her up?" Shane asked. "Are you insane?"

"And stupid. Don't forget stupid," Shannon added.

"Yeah, I knocked her up. And I don't regret it," Jeff snapped.

"Shut up, I ain't done yet," Kimo snapped back. "She came out here to stop you from ruining your life then watched her family drive away after letting it be known that they never want to see her again. Keri: 'I'm scared. I have no one now. I'm having a baby and I don't think I can do it on my own.' Jeff: 'Oh, you poor, poor thing. Your mother is a bad, bad woman. Your uncle is a bad, bad man. I feel sooooo sorry for you. Fuck it, I'm just going to sacrifice myself now. I'll marry you.'

"I wasn't sacrificing myself! I wanna be with her!" Jeff shouted.

But, looking back at it now, without that talk he had meant to have with her, Keri wouldn't have known that.

"Fuck!" he sighed, deflated.

"Dude, you have a lot to learn about women," Brandi said.

"The first thing being, you don't drop shit like that on someone after they've just had a very fucking emotional experience," Shane added. "Timing, Jeff. What the hell's wrong with you?"

Jeff ran a hand through his hair. No, it obviously hadn't been the best time to say something like this. But he'd thought knowing he wanted to be with her would make Keri feel better, make her realise she wasn't alone.

"Okay, so now we've learnt that I don't always make the best decisions when it comes to Keri. So maybe one of you shits could tell me what the hell I'm supposed to do now," he grumbled as he walked up the steps to stand on the porch with them.

"Maybe you should step back, allow both of you time to get your heads around the situation," Matt suggested. "I mean, there's still a lot you don't know. And all of this has happened so fast."

Of course. All the gory details of how a little girl lost her innocence, details that couldn't see the light of day as long as the cameras were following them. He bit back his anger as he looked back at where the car had disappeared. Dealing with Drew would require a great deal of thought. Now wasn't the time.

"I can't step back, Matt. Orton's just waiting on the sideline for a chance to jump in."

"Orton? You mean the guy who sat back and watched you mess with his date in public, then laughed really loud when you used your jacket to hide your boner so you could follow her to do whatever you did to her?" Shannon said. "Open your eyes, Jeff. That's all you need to fucking do."

Jeff sighed. He honestly couldn't see how he would ever get back from this last fuck up, or even if he could do it at all. He had serious doubts about how she really felt about him. If she loved him, wouldn't she have jumped at the chance to marry him?

But the guys were right. Everything _was_ happening so fast and she probably _was_ scared. From virgin to expecting in only three months... that would knock anybody sideways. As much as he hated to say this, he _did_ need to step back and let her sort her head out for herself. If that meant she would end up with Orton, then he would just have to deal with it. He would still help her with the baby, even if he had to watch her with another man.

"I'm going to talk to her," he sighed.

"Give her some time," Matt said. "All that shit with her family then your proposal... I'm guessing she won't welcome the intrusion right now."

"Speaking of which," Kimos started, "Matt, you have a lot of explaining to do. You, too, Shane, since you already tried to kill the guy once before."

"Another time," Matt said they all started to walk back into the house.

Matt held back, though, and looked him in the eye.

"Thank you," he said. "We'll talk later, okay?"

Jeff nodded and watched his brother walk back into the house too. But he decided to go against the advice he had been given and go to Keri anyway. At the very least, he had to apologise and make her understand that he wanted this baby, her baby.

"Microphone," the sound guy said firmly as he handed it to him.

Jeff rolled his eyes as he took it. With the baby coming, he had to make sure Vince had no reason to fuck with them, and that meant following his instructions to the letter.

When he got to the opening in the woods, he noticed a cameraman had already set up a little away from her. Keri had her head on her knees and her little shoulders were shaking as she cried and this man was just watching from behind his camera lens.

Shaking his head, he walked to the bank where Keri was sitting and sat down next to her.

* * *

Jeff was unbelievable. How could he offer her marriage just because he'd knocked her up and felt sorry for her? And at a time like this? She'd just been disowned! Couldn't he work out for himself in that thick head of his just what that was doing to her?

Wiping her silent tears, she adjusted the microphone that one of the crew had handed to her when they had followed her down here. All she wanted was a bit of space, a little time away from everyone to just cry it out, but she wasn't even being allowed that.

Seeing her uncle here in her safe place... the one place that had no associations with him... it had brought so many things back that she had thought long buried. Then watching Jeff almost kill him... She'd always believed the day would come when Jeff would find out, then Drew would get what was coming to him – Jeff had been looking out for her for as long as she had been in their lives, after all – but seeing them like that today...

It had made her realise Drew just wasn't worth it. The last thing she wanted was for Jeff to ruin his life because of such a shitbag.

Because she cared about him.

Maybe a bit more than was healthy, a bit more than she should have. And all he was offering was a pity party; a marriage of convenience.

Dropping her head to her knees, she let some of the tears come. She was going to allow just this one time to feel sorry for herself before she had to be strong for the life she carried. Maybe it was better that it would be just the two of them. One side of the baby's family was full of whores and paedophiles while the other had a father who hated the mother to destruction. And he didn't even want the baby. She couldn't forget about that one.

"Mind if I join you?"

She tensed when she heard the voice. Why couldn't Jeff just leave her alone?

"What do you want?"

"I came to apologise."

"What for?" she grunted.

"A lot of things, apparently," Jeff replied.

She sniffed and lifted her head but didn't look at him.

"I want this baby. I've wanted it since we saw it when you had the scan," Jeff admitted. "I never stopped. Everything else that happened in between was just... I don't know, sometimes I can't think things through when it comes to you. When you told me you were still pregnant, I was really happy. Instead of saying that, I thought of all the things I'd wanted to say to you first."

"Like what?" she asked.

"My apologies, for one thing," Jeff answered. "I didn't want you to think I was only saying them because I'd found out about the baby."

"Jeff, I don't know if I'll ever believe a word you say to me again," she admitted. "You're contradictory. You say the worst things then think a simple 'I didn't mean it' will fix it."

"I know. And I know I've hurt you a lot in the past. And the past few weeks I was a monster; first when I forced myself on you..."

When he said nothing else, she turned her head and saw the look on his face, saw what he was probably thinking.

"Oh, my God..." he whispered.

"No. Don't think like that."

"I'm a fucking monster. I'm so sorry, Keri. What I did... after what happened to you..."

"Don't you _dare_ compare the two," she spat out. "Don't..."

Drew was the monster, while Jeff – however much they argued – was God sent. She would never have got through so many hard times in her life without him. And even with that one incident the first time they made love, not once had she ever not felt safe with him.

"Oh, my God..." he repeated.

He brought his hands to his face, effectively hiding his emotions from her.

"No wonder you hate me," Jeff whispered. "I'm so sorry I forced myself on you. I'm sorry for every time after that, because you never wanted it then either. I should have stayed away. When you said no, I should have listened."

"Well, listen to me now," she snapped. "What happened between us has no shades of resemblance to anything in my past. You say the two in the same sentence again I'm going to have to hurt you! We've been through this crap before. You already know that I don't exactly fight you off."

"Yeah, but_"

"Shut up! If that's all you came to say to me you might as well fuck off now. I'm not in the mood for any more drama."

"I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stress you more," Jeff said.

But he couldn't look her in the eye so she had a feeling he was still comparing himself to Drew.

"What do you want, Jeff?" she sighed.

"I came to say I'm sorry I sprang that stuff on you," he answered, "but in the light of this... recent development... I know just saying those words isn't anywhere near enough to make up for what I did. But I'm going to say them anyway."

She watched his fingers as he played with a blade of grass and realised he was angry with himself. Well, that was fine, because she was angry with him, too. She didn't want her time with him tainted by being compared to her experiences with Drew.

"I'm sorry I've treated you like shit. I'm sorry I've said things to hurt you. You're not worthless, and I think you'll make a wonderful mother. I'm sorry I treated you like a whore. You were innocent and I robbed you of that. I'm sorry I never took the time to really get to know you. I'm sorry I judged you so harshly. I've come to realise that what I thought I knew was a load of crap. Because of you, your cousin's going to have a better life than if his disgrace of a dad had provided for him. I'm s_"

"Are you going to apologise for every single thing you've ever done?" she snorted.

"For a start," he answered. "I've done you so wrong, Keri, and I'm not sure how I can start to make up for it."

"Don't forget I'm not exactly innocent here. I've said and done nasty things to you, too."

"Yeah, but I'm a dick. I probably deserved it."

She sighed and looked away from him. She wasn't in the mood for apologies that – knowing Jeff and his mouth like she did – probably wouldn't amount to anything.

"Look, whatever it is you want, whatever you're doing here, take it somewhere else. I can't do this right now."

"I'm know, I'm sorry. The guys told me I need to work on my timing skills, I should have listened," he muttered. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm not going to pressure you into any decisions you don't want, or stress you anymore. I'm honoured that even after what I did you still kept my baby. I will be here for you, just like I promised, if you let me. And I know now that I don't deserve this, but maybe we could be friends? Just friends?"

So he'd had time to reconsider his proposal and realised he couldn't go through with it? How very noble of him!

"Sure. Whatever," she said, even though the last thing she wanted was to be friends with him. It would mess her up.

But she realised they would have to be friends for the sake of the baby.

"Thank you," he whispered.

He sounded very sincere, as if it meant something that she would agree. It probably did. He'd want access to his child without any underlying tensions.

"Mind if I sit here for a while? I just need to get my head right, away from everybody."

"Knock yourself out."

But maybe she shouldn't have allowed him to stay, because his presence was a constant reminder of what could have been, making her feel miserable again.

So now that she was carrying his child and she'd thrown his suggestion to get married in his face, he wanted to be just friends? Would he really keep his hands off her, considering that everytime he touched her, the whole place went up in flames? And the bigger question: did she want that?

She had told him earlier that she had to get away from him, from all the insanity, but that had been because she'd been afraid of his reaction about the baby. He knew now, but even though his reaction had been less than flattering – she didn't buy his explanation about that - did she still need to go? She didn't want to be away from everyone; it was scary enough that she was going to be a mother without having to be reminded everytime she came home to an empty apartment that she was doing it alone.

Whether Jeff was a dick or not he was still her hero. Over and over again he'd been her hero, just like he'd been her hero when he'd dealt with Drew. She needed that right now.

So friends. Even if she wanted more. Even if she craved more. She just had to accept that the happy ever after she'd always dreamed of would always remain just a dream.

"What am I going to do now?" she whispered.

"Whatever you decide, I'll support you," Jeff answered.

"I can't even cook. How the hell am I going to feed our child?"

"I'll teach you how to cook. You'll be fine," Jeff answered, putting his arm around her and drawing her closer so she was secured against him.

"And when this show is done? When that money dries up? What do I do then? I dropped out of school as soon as I could, the only things I know how to do aren't exactly something I'd put on a resume or teach my children; and _"

She paused when she heard the little sound Jeff made.

"What? Am I hurting you?" she asked, slightly moving away in case she was leaning on something.

"No," Jeff coughed. "It's just what you said... You said children, not child, and I sort of got this picture... Um... Anyway, you know you can do anything you set your heart out to do. You know how to work hard – you've always done so in your past... jobs. There's nothing to stop you from earning a decent living. And you won't ever have to do it alone, anyway. Don't worry about money."

"But I have to worry. It's alright for you to say all this now, but you could easily change your mind and I'd be completely fucked. I don't want to have to feel insecure when I have a baby to look after. I need stability, and I'm the only one who can provide that."

"I won't change my mind."

"You can't guarantee that. What if you meet someone you really want to marry and they don't like that you're taking care of another child? What if you have more kids, planned kids, with her and our child isn't a priority anymore? I _need_ to be able to look after the baby by myself, just in case."

"You don't have to worry about that," Jeff said, meeting her eyes. "You're important to me. Even when we fought like cats and dogs, I was there for you. You can't deny that. I don't see that changing, especially now that you're having my baby.

Whatever you decide to do, I'll support you. You want to learn to cook I'll help you. You want to go back to school or find a job I'll help you with that, too. Whatever makes you feel secure, I'll do it."

"Wow. You're taking this friend thing really seriously, aren't you," she said. "You don't owe me anything, Jeff. I'll accept your help with the baby - cause let's face it: I'm going to mess it up by myself – but you can't do everything for me. I'm going to have to work this one out for myself."

Because he was a major part of her problem, it would mess her up completely if she made him the solution, too.

"I know. I'm just letting you know I'm here. For anything."

She caught his eyes for the first time since he'd sat down and saw something different in them. It wasn't the burning fire from before, it wasn't the coldness she'd got used to either.

"Did I make the right choice? Keeping it?" she whispered.

"The best choice," he answered seriously. "After everything... the easiest thing would have been not to keep it. Last week, after I said those nasty things to you when I was angry, I had a chance to look at it from your point of view and realised I'd brought the whole thing on myself. If you had got rid of it, I wouldn't have blamed you at all. Like I said, I'm a dick, but I'm going to work on that."

All of these were just more words, more empty promises. She couldn't plan a future on that.

She looked away from him to stare out at the water with another sigh. What she needed was to just get through this day and then think about everything clearly after she'd rested, after the pain had lessened.

"Hey, look at me," Jeff whispered, gently turning her head back to him with his finger on her chin till his face was only a couple of inches from hers. "You _are_ important to me. You matter to me. Very, _very_ much. Don't ever forget that, okay?"

Why did he have to go and say things like that, things that made her hope and wish and dream? He looked like he was being sincere again and this time she saw a hint of the fire in his eyes.

Her eyes fell to his lips and remembered all the pleasure they had given her, all the magic they wove. If their situation wasn't so complicated, she would have placed her own lips on them, tasted them. But any touching always led to sex, and their little session against the door had to be the last time. No more kisses. No more sex. She couldn't afford to be emotionally invested in this relationship, couldn't afford to feel any more than she already felt.

And she certainly didn't want to have to sit back and actually think about what she already felt. It was best to just ignore it.

But still, she couldn't take her eyes off his lips.

Subconsciously, she licked her own then salivated when Jeff's lips parted in reaction. His breathing was heavier and she felt his muscles stiffen in the arm that was still around her shoulders. Then slowly, so slowly, his lips came closer, so close she could already taste them.

Her eyes closed in anticipation... but the kiss never came.

It took her a moment to realise he had turned his head away, and when she opened her eyes she realised he was trying to get himself under control.

Immediately she moved out of his arms. What was she thinking? Of course they couldn't kiss each other anymore. They'd just established that they were just friends now, it was better that way.

So why did she feel slightly rejected?

And why was this hurting her more than her mother's rejection?

Jeff cleared his throat and said, "We should probably head back. The others are worried about you, and we should probably get the video logs done before Vince gets some lawyers in."

She nodded her head then wordlessly accepted his help getting to her feet. She couldn't sit there any longer, because she'd have to think about her feelings.

That was the last thing she needed.

**Randy's back in the next one, keep your knickers on... lol. And a bit of Marky, too. **

**So she says no more sex, he says no more sex, but will they keep their word this time?**

_**Bingobaby**__**, **__**dannycena42**__**, **__**xSamiliciousx**__**, **__**sailormama**__**, **__**I am M.J**__**, **__**.SwantonflyinVipers**__**, **__**msgemgem**__**, **__**GiGi.501**__**, **__**hOtlilmofo**__**, **__**mrs.a87**__**, **__**agnesita1385**__**, **__**alana2awesome**__**, **__**HardyDXEvolutionChick**__**, **__**Nats22**_** thank you for the last few chapters since my return from exile... Much love.**


	30. Chapter 30

**I'm sorry. I suffered with a bad case of i-suck-itis. And writers block, as you will see when you read this and realise I'm just rambling for 6000 words. Was just trying to find my voice again, trying to get into the story again, so please bear with me. Next chapter will be better. Thank you for sticking with me. **

**For sailormama. Well done! Happy belated graduation! And thanks for the pep talk.**

* * *

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

How the hell had he ended up here?

Jeff let Keri walk a little ahead of him as they went back to the house. He felt sick, actually physically sick because of what he had done. If he had paid attention... read the signs instead of just thinking of his dick, he would never have hurt her like that. He would never have touched her. And this immense guilt wouldn't be eating him up. It was churning his insides, pulping his brain so all he could see was the way he had held her down and roughly shoved his dick into her.

"Are you alright?"

He looked up to see Keri looking back at him, a little frown on her face. He swallowed down a lump. Bit back the words he wanted to say, words he already knew she wouldn't welcome. She'd said she hadn't fought him off, but they both knew even if she had he would have dicked her anyway.

"Yeah," he lied, his voice a little hoarse from what he was trying to keep in. "Just a little tired."

When they returned to the house the gang all assured themselves that she was alright. He was reminded again of her mother, her uncle and all the shit she must have gone through, shit so bad that his dad had become her guardian. His dad must have known like Matt had. That had to be why she had always been treated so special. And all he had done over the years was fought with her, caused her misery. Hell, sometimes he'd even got off on it.

He was a dick.

He was a monster.

A rapist.

Shit. Shit. Shit!

Matt only had one question for her as she walked into the den.

"Do you want the baby?"

She took a little time to consider this, and it occurred to him that maybe she had only kept the baby because he'd asked. And that would mean he had more to feel guilty about.

But she smiled, put her hand over her stomach and said, "Yeah. Very much."

Then everyone fussed over her, got excited about the baby, and congratulated her. Nobody congratulated him though, like she had made the baby all by herself. He knew they were all upset about it and thought neither he nor Keri was ready even though they weren't showing this to Keri.

They were right. He had ruined her life by forcing her to have the baby. And add that to the anger he felt at himself... it made him want to throw up.

"Um... I'm going to lie down for a little while," he said quietly, giving Keri a little smile before he rushed up the stairs.

He made it to his room in time and went straight to the adjoining bathroom to throw up. Then after washing his face and rinsing his mouth, he dropped himself on his bed, still unmade from the time he had watched the DVD from the doctor with Keri then made love to her afterwards. The bed would probably always remind him of Keri now. And the shower, too.

Swearing to himself, he got of the bed and stripped it of all the bedding. He wasn't going to sleep with Keri again, even if it killed him. So anything that easily triggered such memories had to go.

When the bed was bare, he lay down again and let out a deep calming breath. He had a lot to think about.

He could do this.

He could be just her friend and raise their baby with her. He could be the level headed one. He could be the responsible one. And he could still provide her with the security she wanted without marrying her. His house was almost at the decorating stage; he could give it to her. It was only a house, and he could always build another one. All he had to do was put it in the baby's name, that way she couldn't refuse it. Then he'd have to see about setting some sort of fund for the baby's future.

He'd still have a long way to go in terms of learning to think rationally about her and building a healthy relationship but this was something he could do now to put her mind at ease.

There was a knock on the door then Keri stuck her head in. He felt a pang in his chest as he remembered again.

"They want us to do the video log together now, before we forget," she said. "Can I come in?"

He sat up and got off the bed.

"Sure," he answered.

"Are you tidying up?" she asked as she walked in with a camera man in tow.

"Something like that," he answered as he moved the pile of bedding to a corner so the cameraman could set up.

"You moving back?"

He heard the way she asked, like maybe she hoped he was moving back. But he couldn't, not until he had things under control.

"Not tonight," he answered.

The cameraman left and he started to mess with the camcorder so he could pretend he hadn't noticed the way her face had fallen. He was doing this for her as well. He was no good for her.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

They sat on the edge of the bed facing the camera and were silent for a while.

"We're going to have to say something," he said.

"I don't really have much to say at the moment."

He looked at her and saw the firm set of her jaw.

"You're sulking," he stated.

"I'm not."

But she folded her arms, looked straight ahead and still remained silent. Not only was she sulking, she was getting angry. He knew the signs.

"I don't want to fight with you," he told her.

"I'm not fighting. I'm just wondering how the hell someone thinks he can help me to learn how to do shit when he's not even here."

"I _will_ help you. I'll be here bright and early tomorrow, we can do breakfast for everybody."

"If you're going to get up early to drive back here then why the hell can't you just stay?" she asked, arms still folded, still looking straight at the camera.

"You know why."

"No. I don't. We've managed to live together before, why not now when I need you here to do the things you promised me?"

He turned her to face him and looked her straight in her eyes.

"I need to sort some things out but that doesn't mean I'm not going to be here for you," he said softly. "I promised, didn't I?"

"I know all about your promises! You're regretting your decision already, aren't you?"

"I _do_ want the baby. I told you already."

Gently he put his hand over her stomach where his seed was growing and looked back up at Keri.

"That's _my_ child in there. Flesh of my flesh," he whispered reverently. "_Our_ legacy. And you two are already my entire world. I'm not going anywhere. Okay?"

She nodded her head and he gave her a little smile as he pulled her closer and they faced the camera once more. It was torture being so close to her but from now on, she came first.

He could do this.

He _would_ do this.

"Now, tell all the nice people watching this how your day went."

"Well, if they couldn't see it for themselves them they have a lot more to worry about than how my day went," Keri muttered.

"Be nice."

"Well, what do you want me to say? My day was crap. It sucked. Now I just want to go to bed and pretend it never happened."

He looked down at her pouting face. Of course. She was pregnant. He would have to start taking care of her, making sure she ate and rested for the sake of the child. And that she wasn't stressed. The past few hours couldn't have been good for the baby.

"I'll wrap this up, then. You take yourself to your room and get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning," he said, letting her go so she could stand.

He watched her walk out of the room and then fell back onto the bed again.

He could do this.

He could do this.

If he repeated that to himself enough times, maybe he would start believing it.

* * *

The next few days were kind of surreal because Jeff and Keri were trying out the whole friendship thing and for the first time in... well, forever, he had actually included himself in the gang's conversations while Keri was there. He discovered he actually enjoyed her conversations. He'd spent years either leaving the room or just sitting there uncomfortably that he'd never really paid any attention to the way Keri interacted with everyone - which was a damn shame because if he had he would have blown all his assumptions about her clear across the water a long time ago.

For instance, there was nothing presumptuous about her like he'd believed. And the laughs, the smiles... they were genuine. Over the course of the three days they had been home, he'd lost count of the number of times the sound of her laughter had made him forget what he'd been doing.

And he'd come to realise that all the people she had wrapped around her little finger were there because they wanted to be.

But thinking about what he had done to her that first time in that hotel room made for a miserable three days. And that had been made even worse by the fact that it hadn't stopped him wanting to sleep with her again. She was in his blood, he'd lost a part of himself to her and the longer he watched her, listened to her, the more he realised he was in danger of losing himself completely.

Or maybe he had already crossed that bridge.

Over the past few years his whole body had become so attuned to hers, craved hers, and_ needed_ hers that much that he didn't know who he was without her anymore. It seemed unhealthy. As far as addictions went, he didn't think he'd ever beat this one. He didn't want to. Monster or not, he loved her. But he had to beat it. There was a child to think of now.

There was no way he could control his emotions if he let himself get into a proper relationship with her, even if he ever managed to forgive himself for forcing himself on her. He'd always want to fight her battles, even the ones he couldn't win. He'd always be jealous of her time. He'd always be jealous of any man she looked at, talked to or even smiled at. Then he'd get angry and say things he didn't mean like he always did. And they'd fight like cats and dogs again, this time with their child right in the middle of it. So they couldn't have any relationship other than a platonic one. He'd hurt her enough.

It was a constant battle to stay true to his word, but it was a battle he intended to win. So he'd gone back to his Dad's every night even though Matt had said it was okay for him to come back. Every night he'd kissed Keri's cheek and walked out of the house without looking back. Every night he'd been up, tortured by memories, aching to lay with her again. And every night he'd had to remind himself he was no better than Drew Christos, because that was the only way he felt disgusted enough with himself to stop himself from driving back to Matt's.

To take his mind off everything, he had sat by his computer all night, reading about pregnancy and babies and ordering books. He knew nothing about babies that when he thought about it, it scared the shit out of him that a little life would depend on him in a little over five months. He would have to do as he had first promised: to take a break from work when his contract was up. That way he would be there from the very beginning. According to the scan they did, Keri was due on the twenty-fourth of September. He could take a year or so out and hope Vince took him back after because he'd need to make more money to take care of Keri and the baby.

The last night home Keri had walked him out to the porch. His attempts to teach her to cook had all ended in mini disasters and a lifetime ban from Matt's kitchen so she had been feeling sorry for herself all day. He'd tried his best to comfort her, telling her that it would take time and he'd be there every step of the way but it didn't seem to have helped much. Keri had been convinced she would never be able to cook for their baby.

When he'd gone to kiss her cheek, she'd turned her face so he'd got her lips instead. He'd had to fight himself really hard to stop his lips pressing into hers, to stop his tongue seeking hers. But like the addict he was he'd let the feel of her; the scent of her fill him up again, cloud his senses again.

It had only been for a fraction of a second but he'd been completely fucked. Hours later as they checked into the hotel, he was still fucked.

"I'm going to find Randy," Keri said the second they got their keys.

"Don't you want to rest first? We've been on the road a long time," he asked, trying his hardest to ignore what he'd felt on hearing Randy's name. His jealousy was something he needed to keep under lock and key.

"Since someone thought it would be funny to put us in the same room, I'm thinking I'll give you a little space so you can decontaminate yourself and get rid of my stink."

With that she walked off, bitter as she had been since she had burnt all the meals. Or quite possibly she was upset that he had kissed her, albeit accidentally. Or maybe it was the way he had run to his car to get away from her. Or maybe it was just hormones.

Matt laughed as they watched her walk away and he scowled at his brother.

"It's not funny, Matt."

"Oh, but it is," Matt laughed again as he picked up one of Keri's bags. "I'm so glad you're the one who has to deal with her mood swings."

Vince had so much to answer for. He'd changed their bookings without telling them, which probably meant that they would share a room or suite for the duration of the filming.

He'd had to drive a few miles away to stop himself from forcing his unwanted attentions on her. What chance did he have when he was being forced to share a room?

"Was she still upset after I left last night?" he asked as they walked to the elevators.

"What do you think? But I think I'll just sit back and watch this play itself out," Matt grinned.

"That's not like you. Normally you want to have your big nose right in the middle of it," he teased.

"Yeah, but apparently if I'd kept out of it from the very beginning, I'd have noticed a few things sooner. I meant to have a word to you about that, but there just hasn't been the right moment," Matt said as he pressed the button for their floor. "I shouldn't have got so angry with you. I just thought, since you were always so vocal about hating her, that you were only after one thing. And with that other situation with... Well, I hope now you can see why I've always been so protective."

The other situation... He looked behind him and saw the cameramen. Would he ever get the full story?

"But I _did_ only want one thing. Or I _thought_ I did. You knew this but you let me carry on."

"Because I finally noticed the way you look at her, the way you look out for her and realised I was a dick for worrying. She's in good hands," Matt smiled.

He shook his head.

"That's where you're wrong. All I do is hurt her. I'll raise our kid with her but she'd be better off with someone else. Maybe even Randy."

With that, he walked out of the elevator with his and Keri's bags in tow.

* * *

Keri burst into tears the second she saw Randy sitting with John at a table by the bar. She couldn't help it. Matt had told her last night she was just hormonal, maybe he was right. She'd been feeling pretty useless the past few days. It wasn't just the cooking; it was all the stress about how she was going to make money after the show was over. She'd decided she needed to get some sort of qualifications so she could provide her child's basic needs. How would she balance working, school and the child when all the people she trusted worked away from home for most of the year? Would she have to strip again? Would she have to hustle again? Maybe when it came down to it that was all she would be able to do. And she'd set a bad example for her child just like Donna had for her.

This baby was doomed

"Hey, what's wrong?" Randy asked as he rushed to her side and put his arm around her.

"Nothing. It's just been a stressful few days. I'm just being stupid," she sniffed, wiping her tears as she let Randy lead her to the table.

"Awww," Randy grinned as he sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms. "Jeff still withholding his dick? The bastard!"

She lifted her head and glared at him but Randy just laughed.

"What?" Randy asked.

"That _isn't_ why I'm upset! I _don't_ want to sleep with him. The reason I'm crying has nothing to do with Jeff. He and I have come to an agreement and we're both very happy about that."

"So why did you kiss him, then?" John asked.

Her eyes widened.

"You _told_ him? You told _this guy_? Really? Why didn't you just paint a big, bright sign for everybody to see?"

"I would have, but it's more fun this way. I can reach more people," Randy grinned. "Oh, relax. Whatever I've told him isn't exactly secret. Millions of people will know it too soon."

"For the record, I _didn't_ kiss him. Not exactly. It was an accident," she said to John before turning back to Randy. "Can you keep _any_ secrets? Remind me again, why are we friends?"

"Because you, like the millions of women out there, were unable to resist my charms," Randy smirked. "It's only natural. You're human."

"Could your head get any bigger?" John laughed.

"Yes. Yes it can," Randy answered before pulling her closer to him again. "Seriously, though, this is a good thing. Jeff knows about the baby, he's going to help you and for once he's not thinking with his dick. He had to man up. You shouldn't get upset over that."

"I know. I'm _not_ upset about that," she whined, repeating herself again. "I guess I'd hoped all this would end a different way."

"Who says it's over?" John asked.

"It is. I have to put aside whatever hopes I'd had before for my child. They don't seem as important right now."

She wasn't even interested in finding a man anymore. It wasn't as if she could concentrate on that when she had to learn how to take care of a baby.

"And your hopes for Jeff to fall in love with you?" Randy asked.

"I never had any of those! Jeff isn't the type of man I would fall in love with," she snapped. "Whatever I _did_ feel has been firmly put to rest. It's over."

Hopefully. She could ignore her body's wishes and concentrate on what mattered, couldn't she?

"Yeah, right!" John chuckled.

"You cum at the mention of his name. Oh, yeah, he's definitely not your type," Randy snorted.

She chose to ignore Randy.

"The guy can't even look at me. He proposed to me out of pity and was very relieved when I said no. Trust me. It's over."

"He proposed?" John asked.

She looked at Randy.

"Oh. _That_ you kept secret?" she snorted.

"It didn't seem as interesting as the fact that you want to sleep with him but he's running away from you," Randy smirked.

"Will you stop saying that? I don't want to sleep with him and nobody's running away from anybody. What happened last night doesn't mean anything."

"He's runnin'. Trust me on that one. I'm thinking of putting some money on this. Will you catch him? Or will he _let_ you catch him?"

She threw her hands up in surrender. Maybe she shouldn't have told Randy about the way Jeff had run away from her the previous night. She'd had to put the phone down on him because he'd been laughing that much.

"I'm going to go with he's going to let you catch him. Hundred bucks," John said.

"Okay, can we stop this now? You two are hopeless, and also there's a guy next to me with a camera in my face."

She glared at the camera man, then at Randy.

"You open your big mouth again I'll hurt you," she threatened.

"I wouldn't tell anybody how you tried to have phone sex with me," Randy said with a straight face.

"Oh, stop! I've told you not to joke like that! People will believe you! Vince can edit this to make it whatever he wants," she said irritably.

"Lighten up," Randy laughed as he stood up. "Come on, let's go to my room. I need to be out of here in half an hour for my signing."

"Are you coming to Smackdown?"

"Yeah. My schedule's changed. For some reason, Vince has included quite a lot of supershows for the next few weeks," Randy answered. "Looks like we're going to have more or less the same schedule."

"Good. I can hang out with you then," she said as she let him lead her out of the hotel bar.

"And that there is the whole reason Vince has thrown us together," John laughed.

"Why? So we can spend time together?" Randy frowned.

"Maybe he sees a big potential for a threesome," John grinned. "Or maybe he's just messing with Jeff's head."

"He wouldn't do that. Changing schedules out of the blue would cost a lot of money, doing that for entire rosters for the sake of a reality show is ridiculous," Randy argued.

Keri frowned and looked up at Randy. Vince had already done some ridiculous things in the name of the show. What was to stop him trying to create drama where there wasn't any?

"Don't worry," Randy grinned when he saw her face. "It's not like it's going to change anything. You already wounded my ego by choosing Jeff over me, I'm not about to repeat that experience."

"Yeah, but think of all the torture Jeff is putting himself through thinking of you two together," John said.

"We're just friends now. He knows I want to stand on my own feet. This wouldn't affect him, either."

"You sure? You're carrying his child. If he still thinks you're sleeping with Randy, trust me, he's not going to like it."

* * *

"I'm not going to be around for long. You need to step up as a leader. All this shit with you hanging out with everyone and getting drunk with them... they won't respect you as much. They might even start trying to walk all over you. You need to show people that they can't mess with you, that they can't be all buddy-buddy with you_"

"Marky!"

Mark frowned and turned just in time to see the irritating woman throw herself at him and wrap her arms around him.

"They said you weren't coming back for a while after your awesome match with Shawn. Am I soooo glad to see you! You won't believe the shit that's happening to me."

Mark looked over at his screen brother, who was smirking in amusement.

"Show people they can't mess with you, huh?" Glen asked.

"Sometimes you meet crazy people. Crazy, annoying people," Mark said through grit teeth.

He was already regretting agreeing to come back on the road for a few days to finalise some papers with Vince. He could have easily done that at the headquarters but for some reason, Vince had asked him to come here.

Looking at the tiny head squashed to his chest and the cameras close by, he had a feeling he knew what the reason was.

"Am I interrupting something?" Keri asked.

"Yes."

"No," Glen said at the same time. "Carry on."

"Kane, isn't it? Marky didn't want to introduce us. I told him you'd be fine with it. You're fine with it, aren't you Kane. Mind if I call you Kane? I'm Keri."

"Very pleased to meet you, Keri," Glen chuckled.

"Pick me up, Marky."

"What?" He frowned.

"Pick me up. I feel very insignificant down here," Keri said as she let go of him to stand between him and Glen. "I don't want to talk to his chest, I want to talk to his face."

He frowned again at the girl. Why was she plaguing him? Didn't she have enough to keep her occupied with young Hardy?

"I said, pick me up!"

"Yeah, Marky. Pick her up," Glen chuckled.

He shot a look at his friend. They'd just been talking about maintaining some degree of respect by keeping some sort of distance from such things!

"Listen. I'm pregnant, hungry and need to pee. Pick me up, please," Keri asked, though to him it still sounded like an order.

She looked him in the eye as she said this, and didn't even flinch when he used his best intimidating look. What was wrong with the girl?

With a mutter, he let out a breath and picked her up with his hands under her arms. The sooner he did this the sooner she'd go away.

She weighed about as much as a feather when he put her face to face with his friend. She was pregnant; she needed to look after herself. Or at least Jeff needed to look after her. He'd have to have a word...

No. No he wouldn't. It wasn't his problem. What the fuck was wrong with him?

* * *

"Hi, Kane," she smiled goofily.

Mark was always good to mess with when she needed her spirits picked up. And meeting the friend she had previously been forbidden to meet was probably irritating the hell out of him.

"Hi," Glen answered.

"I like your eyes," she said.

She probably looked stupid, suspended in the air between two seven foot men. But she'd heard the rubbish Mark was talking about. Keep your distance? Pfft!

"I like yours," Glen answered.

"Marky and I are best friends. I'm sure he's told you a lot about me."

Ha!

"Nothing at all," Glen smiled.

"Marky! I've told everybody about us yet nobody knows about me? Are you ashamed of me?" she asked with feigned hurt. "Do I embarrass you? Is that it?"

"Yes," Mark answered.

"That's not a nice thing to say," she pouted.

"No, Marky. That's not a nice thing to say," Glen said.

"Thank you for backing me up, Kane. I've tried with this guy. I really have. But all he does is push me away like our relationship means nothing to him," she said.

"Maybe you should try harder," Glen suggested. "He can be a prick like that, sometimes. You just need to keep pushing and pushing. And pushing."

"I'm putting you down now," Mark said, grumbling something under his breath that she couldn't catch as he put her down.

She tried to keep a straight face as she turned to him.

"Don't be afraid of my love, Marky. Open up to me. Feel my love. And if you can't, I'll be right here waiting until you do."

For good measure, she put her arms around him again and felt him tense.

Then she felt herself being pulled away from behind and Jeff's distinctive voice mumbling, "Sorry," as he took her away.

"'Bye," she called out with a wave at the two huge men.

Glen waved back with a laugh. Mark just bit his teeth.

"Are you crazy?" Jeff hissed.

"Oh, he loves it," Keri said, waving it off as she let Jeff lead her to the gorilla.

It was time for Jeff's match, and like a good girl, she had to let him hold her hand to the ring. The whole 'friend' thing was still weird but she was going to make it work. She had to. The past few days had done nothing but prove that she would be a rubbish mother, she needed Jeff there in the background until she could get on her feet. For the sake of all the money she was making, money that would help her plan a more secure future for her baby – and maybe even hire a cook - she had to put a smile on her face and pretend she wasn't freaking out.

* * *

"_...because you, like the millions of women out there, were unable to resist my charms..." _

"_...I know..." she whined. _

"_Who says it's over?" John asked._

"_Jeff isn't the type of man I would fall in love with... He proposed to me... I said no. Trust me. It's over."_

"_... you tried to have phone sex with me," Randy said with a straight face._

_Randy laughed as he stood up. "Come on, let's go to my room. _

"_...potential for a threesome," John grinned._

"_Don't worry," Randy grinned when he saw her face. "It's not like it's going to change anything." _

"_You sure? You're carrying his child. He's not going to like it," John said._

What. The. Fuck?

Keri looked away from the titantron in disbelief. Vince had done exactly what she had thought he would; taken the conversation she'd had with Randy and John and turned it into something else entirely. It looked like she had gone off with both of them for a threesome!

She turned to looked at Jeff and saw his eyes fixed on the screen even though the edited video had stopped playing.

He stood like a statue in the middle of the ring. After the past few days, she didn't think he would believe that crap. Would he?

Jeff turned away and walked to his corner of the ring to wait for his opponent, Matt, without even looking at her. Apparently, he did believe that crap. And so did his fans.

The booing started quietly at first until the whole arena seemed to be shaking with the force of it. She hated it. She hated that she was being hated for something she hadn't done. And she hated that Jeff couldn't even back her up. She was standing alone in the middle of the ring looking at the thousands of fans as they booed and chanted and all he could do was stay in his corner, looking down at the mat like it was more important than what was going on.

"Aww," Matt said. "Is Loverboy heartbroken?"

She looked up to see Matt at the top of the ramp with a microphone in his hand. She was pretty sure this wasn't scripted, like somehow Vince was trying to turn Smackdown into a reality show too.

"I said I was going to erase him from the WWE and I meant it," he continued. "Maybe when his career is over, he'll have more time to spend with you so you're not whoring with the Superstars."

She gasped.

"Is that bastard you're carrying even his?"

She gasped again.

"I bet not. I kicked you in the stomach but he's still holding on, so already he's showing strength that Jeff doesn't have. He'll probably have big ears or a big butt, like his real daddy," he continued. "You and my worthless brother deserve each other."

She wasn't taking this anymore. No way in any contract had she agreed to use her baby as a storyline. Vince was going to pay for this.

She took one last look at Jeff as she made her way out of the ring. He was still ignoring her. By the time she'd stormed past Matt and made it backstage, she was seething. She was no actress and she was no Diva. They should have at least told her what they planned on doing instead of throwing her at the deep end like that.

She didn't talk to anyone on her way to the locker room where she got her bag and called a taxi. By the time the taxi dropped her off at the hotel, her anger was starting to dissipate. Even if she had been told in the beginning what the plan was, what would she have done? She needed the job, she needed the money. Saying 'no' to Vince wasn't on the cards.

With a tired sigh, she walked through the room she was sharing with Jeff. One bed and one long couch. The man had billions; surely he could have spared some of it for a two-bedroom suite. Without bothering to change, she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.

* * *

Jeff took a steadying breath before he swiped his key. Those words had been repeating themselves over and over in his head.

_Jeff isn't the type of man I would fall in love with..._

_Jeff isn't the type of man I would fall in love with..._

He had known this of course, but it still hurt.

When he walked in, she was asleep on the bed with only the glow from the stars and lights outside lighting the room. He breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about that video. Even if Vince had twisted things around somehow, those words had still come out of her mouth.

He put his bag down, switched a lamp on and looked at the couch he was spending the night in. It looked comfortable. It certainly looked expensive. But he had already tried the fucker out and knew it was going to be one very uncomfortable night. And to top it all off, it had a perfect view of the bed.

Vince had done that on purpose.

He sat down heavily and looked at Keri's sleeping form. What was with her and her clothes riding up like that? The baby-doll dress she had worn for the show was bunched around middle and the light from the lamp showed her sexy little lacy boy shorts covering her sexy little ass.

He groaned. The last time they had shared a room he had woken up on top of her with her tits in his mouth.

She turned over and he swallowed as he saw the slight bump on her stomach. If only things were different. If only he didn't have this guilt. If only she loved him. They could have been a family in every sense of the word.

But seeing that bump now only reminded him all over again of what he could never have.

Swearing under his breath, he roughly switched the lamp off.


	31. Chapter 31

**Okay, here it is. Waaaaaay overdue. I held it back because I couldn't seem to get the voice right. Again. Don't want this Jeff and the Amazing Grace Jeff sounding the same. I tried. It's rambly and weak but the next one is already 'sounding' a lot better. **

**On the plus side, I have a new nephew. And because I've had two kids my brother's letting me show him and his wife what to do because they are assuming I'm some sort of expert. If only they knew... **

* * *

Keri tried to roll over, desperately fighting consciousness because she was still so exhausted. She frowned when she couldn't move, and lifted her head in irritation.

"What the fuck?" she groaned.

She remembered falling asleep on top of the cover but for some reason she was now well tucked in, the bedding all the way to her chin. It was quite an effort to pull them off and sit up. Obviously this was Jeff's doing. The man was very weird at times.

She looked around the little room but Jeff wasn't on the couch, though the blanket on it showed that he had indeed come back to the room. He'd probably run away first thing in the morning to avoid her.

He shouldn't have. She'd thought about it before she went to sleep and realised that even if Jeff had known what was going to happen in the ring, he would still have had to play along or risk his job. She couldn't fault him for not defending her. It was Vince she had a problem with but she knew being angry with that man was futile. He was the same man who'd brought up the issue of Jeff's burning house and precious dog into the show for entertainment.

She slipped out of the bed and found her bag then slowly made her way to the bathroom. After a long hot shower she felt slightly better but she still wished she could slip back into bed and sleep the day away. If only they didn't have to check out early and get on the road. Vince had sent instructions that they had to be on the tour bus by eight.

She dressed in a little summer dress with a belt for her microphone pack because her jeans didn't button up anymore. She'd have to see if she could find time to do a little bit of shopping for loose clothes because she was starting to show. Nothing extravagant though because she needed to save every penny.

When she came out of the bathroom there was some food on the coffee table and the glass door to the balcony was open. And the smell of cigarette smoke was wafting through the room. She'd murder for one of those and a large whiskey but of course she couldn't touch anything like that for the next five months. Or maybe never again if she was hoping to set a good example for her baby.

She tied her long brown hair up and grabbed a glass of orange juice from the table before joining Jeff on the balcony.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he answered, only looking at her briefly before turning back to the view of the city.

"I didn't hear you come in last night," she said as she looked over the city too.

"I... I had stuff to do. I got in really late," he answered. "Have you had your breakfast? We need to check out soon."

He seemed a little bit... off... this morning. She hadn't been in a good mood herself the past few days but Jeff had been the chirpy one, trying to cheer her up and shit.

"Um... I'll have some in a minute. I just wanted to say something about last night."

"There was nothing I could have done except what was expected of me, Keri," Jeff sighed. "I really don't know what Vince was trying to prove by showing that... that video. Maybe he's punishing us for wrecking his cameras at home."

Maybe. That was probably why whatever cameras he had on them now were well hidden. But it still sucked that he would use their unborn baby in a storyline and make it's mother look like a whore.

"I know. That's what I was about to say. I'm sorry I got mad at you and stormed off. We're being paid good money for this; I guess we just have to do whatever Vince wants."

Jeff said nothing and continued to smoke. For a moment, she watched his lips curl around the cigarette butt, inhale, then release the butt to exhale. She salivated. But it wasn't the smoke she was fantasising about. It was the lips. Was it really only four days ago that she'd had those lips on hers for the last time? It seemed like an eternity.

When the silence stretched too long, Jeff turned his head to look at her with a questioning frown. Then he quickly looked away.

"You really need to go back inside," he said quickly.

His voice was strained.

"Why?" she asked with a frown, watching him take a particularly long pull of his smoke.

"Just... You need to eat something."

"I said I'll eat in a minute. I'm just enjoying the view for a little bit."

She didn't mention that the view was of his lips. They looked really, really good. Jeff swallowed and she watched the way his Adam's apple gently bobbed. She'd once put her lips right there and he'd tasted so good. He took another long pull and this time, after exhaling, he bit his bottom lip. _She_ wanted to bite his lip. It was rather juicy and soft. Really nice. Especially when it...

She pulled herself back when she realised she was drooling. She took a sip of her orange juice just to have something to do with her hands so she wouldn't pull his head down and kiss him. Those days were long gone. In fact, they'd barely even started. Besides the drunken time when she'd lost her virginity, their... relationship? Dalliance? Whatever it had been had only lasted a couple of weeks.

"Keri..." Jeff started, but his voice trailed off.

He closed his eyes and let out a breath. Even that fascinated her. She'd read that some pregnant women became horny messes after their first trimester. She was going to pretend this was what it was.

"What is it?"

Jeff ran his fingers through his hair. That was quite sexy. She's never favoured his messy look before but now she could see there was a lot to be said about a man who looked like he'd just got out of bed.

He stubbed his unfinished cigarette and turned around, facing her completely for the first time. He looked terrible, like he hadn't slept well.

She met his eyes and frowned. Again she thought something wasn't right.

"I've got stuff I need to do before we leave," he said. "Do you need me to get you anything?"

"Can't think of anything right now," she murmured.

His eyes were quite beautiful. She knew she'd told him this before, the day they'd come from the doctor's and she'd been in shock, but really they were quite striking. Especially when they'd looked at her like she was the best thing since sliced bread.

Jeff turned away from her quickly and she frowned again. There was something really wrong with that dude.

"You look really tired. Maybe you should stay here and get some sleep until we check out," she suggested.

He chuckled like she had said something funny.

"Um... I'll sleep later. Hurry up, we check out in half an hour," he said, then walked back into their room.

Seconds later she heard the door shut behind him and sighed. She needed to get her body under control. Following its stupid urges to sleep with Jeff was what had got her into trouble in the first place.

And of course she couldn't forget that the only reason Jeff was still in her life was because of the baby.

* * *

How could she even look at him like that after what he'd done to her?

And after what she had said?

He hadn't slept a wink last night, even after tucking her into bed so she wouldn't keep wriggling her butt at him in her sleep. He'd spent most of the night on the balcony, smoking one after another as he'd alternated between trying not to think about sleeping with her because of their shitty situation and trying not to think about his broken heart.

Then what did she do? Stand there and look at him as like she wanted to jump him.

He'd known from the time he'd decided they couldn't sleep together anymore that it was going to be very hard. But how was he supposed to stay away from her if she looked at him like that? He couldn't sleep with her now, after everything he'd done. He just couldn't. He was already hurting. And she had already been hurt enough.

"This is your fault."

He looked up from the coffee he'd been nursing to see The Undertaker sit down at his table. The man had a dark scowl on his face as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"What?" he asked uncertainly.

"I was supposed to leave half an hour ago. My meeting with Vince was conveniently cancelled at the last minute. And he's nowhere to be found. He's left instructions that a room has been booked for me at the next hotel as he can't see me until tomorrow. And he _graciously_ made room for me on the bus because all the car rental places I called didn't have anything available until this afternoon."

"How is that my fault?"

"Vince wouldn't need to keep bothering me if it wasn't for you and your friend," Mark said. "I don't like being messed with, kid. So fix it."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Marry the girl!"

He chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Mark growled.

He stopped chuckling and swallowed. For a second he'd forgotten who he was talking to.

"I'm not marrying her, sir."

He had no idea how Keri could look at that face and call him 'Marky.' She had more guts than he had.

Mark frowned at him. Then he growled some more.

"You knocked an innocent girl up and now don't have the guts to step up?" Mark asked quietly.

He could feel the steel under that voice. He was rather shocked to realise that Keri had got under this man's skin, too. Wow.

"Oh, I had the guts. Like that video said, I proposed, she said no, I'm not the type of man she'd fall in love with."

He laughed at himself. How pathetic was he? In love with a girl he'd raped.

He stopped laughing. Then he sighed as he pushed his coffee away.

"You love her." It was a statement.

"Of course I do," he grunted.

"So how are you going to fix this? The longer she's here the more people are calling me _Marky_," Mark growled.

"I'm sorry we've inconvenienced you but it's not just because she doesn't want to marry me. I _can't_ marry her."

"What sort of bullshit is that? _Can't_ marry her?"

"I always hurt her, Mark," he said quietly. "Recently I hurt her real bad and there's just no way I'll get back from that. She deserves better than me."

Mark frowned at him. Then he sighed and sat back in his chair.

"Whatever you think you've done wrong I've probably heard about it during the many, many... many times she has come to annoy me. None of it has been so bad that you can't work your way out of it."

"She hasn't told you everything," he said sadly.

"Then it can't have been a big a deal as you're making it out to be, because in my limited experience, she's very vocal when she's pissed off."

"You've known her a few weeks. You've probably only talked a handful of times. You don't know anything about her."

"Was your first time caught on camera? I mean your real first time?"

She told him about all that? Well, damn.

"That girl's got a very big mouth," he muttered angrily.

"She didn't give me any details. She was just trying to shock me into talking. Didn't work," Mark revealed in amusement, and then the little smile left his face as he continued. "She's a good kid. Stop playing games with her."

"I'm not playing," he said as he stood up. "Excuse me. If I don't get her moving we'll miss the bus."

* * *

Jeff had thought he'd get some sleep on the bus but he'd been sadly mistaken. The moment he and Keri sat down, Randy walked in with John, Cody and Ted. They never normally caught the bus. Obviously, Vince had got to them too. Keri stood up straight away to sit with them and then just before the bus was set to go, Mark walked on.

Everyone quietened down because Mark never _ever_ caught the bus with them. Keri had the nerve to call out, "Hi, Marky." She even tried to stand up to go to him but thankfully Randy kept her in her seat.

People chuckled. Mark glared at them. Then he glared at him.

Why was he being blamed for this?

When the bus started the long journey, he had to listen to Keri's conversations with her friends, her laughter sounding clearly above everyone else's voices. Normally everyone just slept or caught up with their friends or family on their phones or laptops but for some reason everyone was just making a whole load of noise with Keri. He would have loved to talk to her too, to continue getting to know her but all he could think about was the miserable situation he'd placed himself into.

Halfway through the journey she got up to use the toilet. She gave him a smile as she passed and he forced himself to give her one back. On her way back, she sat next to him in the seat she had vacated at the very beginning of the journey.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," he lied.

"How come you're not sleeping? You look like shit."

"Thank you," he snorted.

"You're welcome," she answered with a teasing smile.

He watched her face for a moment and thought how far they had come. Over a month ago, he would never have believed she would smile at him like that. He would never have believed she would break his heart so badly. And he certainly wouldn't have believed he would rape her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," he lied.

"You know if we're going to be friends you're going to have to start talking to me, right? I know I probably pissed you off by storming off like that in the middle of a show but I thought we talked that shit out."

"We did. I'm sorry; I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Are you thinking about the baby?"

"Among other things."

"I've got my next antenatal appointment next week. You wanna come?"

"Of course. I don't want to miss anything," he replied. "Do you know that she can hear us already? She knows your voice very well and it settles her if she gets scared or anything."

Keri smiled at him.

"What?"

"I'm just impressed. I didn't expect you to take that much of an interest," she replied.

"That's my baby. Of course I'm interested."

"Randy said it's a boy and he's already suggesting names."

Randy. He suppressed the anger he felt at the other man muscling in, first on his woman and now on his baby. But there was nothing he could do about that. If Randy made her happy then so be it.

"Maybe you should go back to sit with your friends. I think I'll try to sleep now."

Keri frowned, he could tell he'd hurt her. Again. She forced a smile as she stood up.

"Of course. Sorry. I was under the impression you were my friend, too."

"I am," he answered with a tired sigh.

"Don't tell me. You didn't mean it like that, right? You're fucked up, Nero."

He looked up into the angry hazel eyes for a moment before gently pulling her back down into the seat.

"We _are_ friends. Don't get angry with me, Keri. Not now, after all the shit we've been through. I spoke without thinking again. I'm trying really hard not to keep putting my foot in my mouth," he admitted.

"Is it really that hard for you to just be a bit nice to me? Is it really such an effort? If it is, then maybe you shouldn't bother. I don't need that right now."

"It's not that," he protested. "I just... I don't want to ever hurt you again, Keri. And I seem to do that everytime I open my mouth."

Keri sighed.

"Jeff, we've only got five months. We need to get our shit together because as it stands, we're going to fuck this baby up."

"We've got our shit together. The baby will be fine. We'll be fine," he said.

"No, we don't have our shit together. How are you going to help me if you can't even stand to be near me?"

He held her gaze for a moment. It was true. He couldn't stand being near her, but not for the reasons she thought. He hoped in time, for the baby's sake, he'd be able to control his urges.

He brought his fingers up to trail her cheek. He wanted to feel her lips on his again so bad, to taste her sweetness. But like he'd told Mark; she deserved somebody better than him.

He sighed as he dropped his hand.

"We've got our shit together," he repeated. "I'm here for you like I promised, don't worry about that."

"But if you don't want to be_"

"I want to be here," he cut in. "There is nothing and no one I want more than you and our child. Okay?"

He watched her reluctantly nod her head before his eyes zoomed in on the way her teeth were worrying her lower lip. All sorts of images of what he'd once planned to do with those lips entered his mind.

He immediately censored them and looked away.

"I'm going to try to get some sleep. I won't get another chance till after the show tonight," he said. "You can wake me up if you need anything."

"Okay," Keri said as she stood up. "I'll see you later."

He watched her walk away, his eyes immediately catching her smooth, naked legs. The little dress she'd worn was murder.

She made another detour before she went back to sit with Randy. When he met the Dead Man's eyes over Keri's head as she wrapped her arms around him, he quickly looked away and closed his eyes. If Mark had a problem with her he could deal with it himself!

* * *

"They look like little sausages," Keri whined.

"I bet if you ask Jeff real nice he'll kiss them all better," Randy grinned as he continued to rub her swelling feet and toes.

He looked over his chair and saw Hardy's eyes boring into him. He grinned some more when the eyes looked at the feet on his lap then away quickly. He had an idea why Hardy was suddenly backing off but it was still a lot of fun to mess with him.

"Shut up," Keri said as she continued to play with the phones in her hands.

"So what did you say to him last night?" John asked.

They were sitting in a row of three seats with Keri between them. She had her head on John's lap, and the guy had been running his fingers through her hair for a long time. He could only imagine what Jeff thought about that.

"I fell asleep before he came back but he was rather strange this morning," Keri frowned.

"I bet he was," he chuckled.

"He must be heartbroken," John continued.

"Why?"

"You told him and a million other people that you don't love him," John said. "Poor boy must be devastated."

"I never said that!"

"Oh, so you _do_ love him?" he asked. "Hear that John?"

"I never said that either! You know it was all taken out of context."

"How the hell is someone supposed to take a statement like, 'He's not the type of man I'd fall in love with.'?"

"I am not talking about this with you two," Keri said snapped.

One of the phones in her hands started ringing, and he stilled when he heard the ringtone.

"This dude is so conceited. Who the hell uses their own theme song as their ring tone, like they think they're so awesome."

"Tell me you didn't," he pleaded.

He knew nobody else in their company who had the guts.

"Don't worry about it. We're friends, he won't mind."

And as she finished saying that, a large form loomed over them. Immediately, he pushed Keri's feet off his lap and sat up straight. The bus quietened down.

"Oh, hey Marky," Keri smiled.

The Dead Man gave her one of his cold stares but she didn't even flinch. The girl had balls. She had huge balls.

"Look him, pretending to be all mad at me and shit. Ain't he cute?" Keri grinned.

When Mark realised that his look wasn't working on her he leaned over and grabbed his phone before turning back to return to his seat.

"Why did you do that?" he hissed.

"Are you trying to get killed?" John added.

"Oh, relax. I really don't see why you guys are afraid of him. He's a big teddy bear," Keri said as she put her feet back on his lap and put her phone to her ear.

He heard Undertaker's ringtone again.

"Hi, it's me," Keri said into her phone. "Isn't it so cool that we've exchanged numbers now? I know... Hello? Hello?"

"Stop it!" he warned.

But Keri was already redialling.

"I can do this all day, Marky. All day," she smiled when Mark answered again.

The Dead Man must have hung up again because Keri called out, "You suck as a BFF, Marky. It's a good thing I'm such a patient person. I'll wait for you, my love."

There were a few snickers, a few chuckles. He didn't dare turn back to look at the Undertaker.

"Yeah, I think I can see why Jeff's running away from you," he said.

* * *

"So is it your baby or Randy's?"

Jeff forced the smile to stay on his lips as he finished the autograph. He'd been fielding similar questions for the past hour. He was ready to just snap.

"Mine," he answered tightly.

"Cool. So is she really that hot in person or is it all just make-up?"

Now there was a question he could answer without wanting to hurt somebody.

"Even hotter," he grinned, looking at the teenage boy as he handed him back his signed poster.

And as he said that, he saw Keri pushing her way through the crowd muttering, "Excuse me." He'd assumed she'd shop until it was time to go so he could have some space to work without distractions. She'd changed into another little dress, and when she moved he could see the slight bump underneath it. The sight had rendered him mindless from the moment she had come out of the bathroom and announced she was ready.

And he couldn't help a sense of pride, too, that the tiny little thing growing inside her was his.

"I'm tired," Keri said as she dropped numerous bags on the floor next to him and dropped down into a chair behind him. "And hungry."

She seemed unaware of the commotion she was causing. If three out of four fans had asked about her then it was a given that she was making some sort of waves in the WWE Universe. He didn't really keep up with any of that but he realised he should have thought of it. Maybe the Universe didn't like her. Maybe, after the video last night, they all thought she was a whore. He had to keep her safe, and that meant he couldn't allow her out unescorted again, especially if her fans were like this horny teenager in front of him.

"Wow," the boy said. "You were right.

"Well, she's taken. Beat it, kid."

"Can I take a picture?"

"Sure."

He got ready to pose, but frowned when the boy took photos of Keri, instead. He didn't want any pimply little boys doing naughty things over her photo.

His frown turned to a scowl.

"I have a lot more people to see," he said to the boy. "Thank you for coming, I hope we see you at the show."

He tried to make his voice sound friendly but he was aware he failed horribly. The boy stopped taking photos and grinned at him before walking away.

"You okay?"

He forced a smile on his lips and turned to look at Keri.

"Yeah. Did you get everything you need?"

"Most of it. But my feet are swollen; I need to take these shoes off."

Another fan stopped in front of him. He turned back to the stack of photos that had been provided for him, ready to sign his name for what seemed like the millionth time. Since he hadn't managed to sleep, he felt exhausted.

"Can I have one here?"

He looked up at the fan and saw her lowering her top and indicating a spot just above her breast. She was a beautiful young woman, probably in her early twenties. And she probably got her kicks from sleeping with the superstars. She had 'Ring Rat' written all over her.

"Um..."

He looked back at Keri and saw a scowl on her face as she glared at the woman. When she looked back at him the scowl disappeared and she continued trying to get her shoes off.

He was no expert but it was quite obvious she didn't like that.

A genuine smile formed on his lips. It seemed Miss. Christos was jealous.

He wasn't going to do anything about that but it was quite nice knowing she felt somewhat territorial.

Even though she didn't want to marry him.

Even though he wasn't the type of man she's fall in love with.

Even though he'd raped her.

The smile fell from his lips.

"Maybe another time," he said as he signed one of the photos.

He posed for a photo with the woman and as soon as she'd walked off, he turned to Keri again. She seemed to be struggling with her shoes. He asked the next fan to give him a minute then stood up to kneel in front of Keri.

His intentions had been completely innocent but the moment he put his hand on her calf to slip her shoe off, he was assaulted by need. The shoe came off and he let her slender foot rest on his thigh. Slowly, he let his fingers trail down her calf. He had to bite his lip to stop himself from groaning.

"I bought some flat shoes," Keri said.

Her voice was a little breathy and it pulled him out of his thoughts.

He looked around and realised cameras were flashing madly. Keri had obviously noticed it first. How could he forget they had an audience?

"Which bag?" he asked, clearing his throat.

When he'd put her new shoes on and sat back down, he let out a drawn out breath. How much of this shit was he supposed to take before everything returned to normal again?

* * *

"Want to watch a movie or something?"

Jeff paused in the middle of putting their empty plates back on the room service tray. Again, they had a room with only one bed and a small, lumpy couch. A movie meant they'd both have to sit close together on the couch like they had done for their meal. That had been torture on a level way up on its own.

"You're not tired?" he asked.

"I had a nap in the locker room during the show," Keri answered as she put her feet up on the coffee table. "But I forgot that you didn't get much sleep last night. We can just turn in if you want."

A way out. Yet his heart rebelled against it.

"No, a movie sounds great," he said instead.

He could have kicked himself. He seemed to have become a glutton for punishment where she was concerned. But if he was going to show her that they could be friends, that they could co-exist, they had to start somewhere.

They picked out a movie from the hotel's limited list. He'd watched it before and knew it was crap, but it was the best they had, and neither he nor Keri wanted to go through the bother of renting another one from somewhere else. He settled down and put his feet on the coffee table next to hers. He hoped she couldn't tell how tense he was.

Keri was one of those people who do a running commentary throughout the movie if they thought it was shit. Normally this pissed him off; why would anyone talk to the TV like the actors could hear them? But Keri was something else.

When she called out obscenities at the 'Dumb Horror Movie Chick' who was running naked towards danger, he couldn't help chuckling. And halfway through the movie, he was completely relaxed and his sides hurt from laughing.

He also seemed to have moved so their sides were nearly touching, and his arm was over the top of the couch. They were cuddling without actually cuddling.

But he didn't move away even though he knew he couldn't allow the situation to get more intimate. It felt nice.

"Is this why you always get thrown out of cinemas?" he laughed. "'Cause I totally get why they'd do that."

She nudged him playfully with her elbow before she reached for some popcorn in the bowl he'd placed on his lap.

"I've been thinking about what I want to do after this," she said as she settled back down.

She settled a little bit closer and put her head down on his shoulder. The contact burnt him. He bit his lip.

"I can't figure out what I want to do at college. I mean, I know I'll never be a doctor or anything like that, but I've never really thought about that. And I know that's stupid 'cause I'm twenty-four, I'm supposed to have all this figured out by now, right?"

"Not everybody knows what they want to do with their lives from when they're in diapers," he said gently. "And you're the most... enterprising person I know so I know you'll figure it out."

"Enterprising?" she snorted.

"You might have skipped school any chance you got but it wasn't because you didn't get it. I saw all your grades. When you actually attended you were quite a little brain box. But if you don't want to do anything like that, you've since developed a whole range of... unique skills... to choose from," he grinned.

He wasn't going to mention some of the things she had done for money because of the cameras but she'd know what he was talking about.

"Well, a fat load of good that will do me," she muttered.

"All I'm saying is you can do whatever you set out to do. Have you thought of maybe doing something that will allow you to start your own business?"

"My own business?"

"I don't see why not. You have many interests you could expand into profitable ventures if you decided to," he shrugged.

"My own business," she mused. "You really think I can do that?"

He looked into her eyes and saw all the uncertainty in them.

"Yes," he answered. He took her hands in his and briefly looked down at her slender fingers. "I believe in you. I know I've said things to the contrary in the past but you're actually the only person I know who sticks to a plan with such annoying tenacity until you achieve your goal."

Even if all her goals in the past had been shady.

"You can do this," he continued.

"Maybe," she said sadly.

"I'll be here. For a lifetime," he said softly.

She turned her face to him. Her lips were so close...

"You'd do that for me?"

"Of course," he answered.

He'd move mountains for her.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she looked away.

"Sorry. It's the hormones," she sniffed.

Damned tears.

He lowered his arm from the top of the couch to her shoulders and held her against him. Again, he was hit by how perfectly she fit there. Like she belonged.

He bit his lip again.

Then he had to swallow a lump when her arms snaked around him and she put her face in the crook of his neck. Her warm breath... the heat of her body... the electric shock to his nerve endings... It was too much for him to take. His heart stopped.

Then when she turned into him and tangled her feet with his, it started hammering for all it was worth.

"I'm glad it's you," she whispered.

He felt her lips moving against his neck and closed his eyes. He suppressed a shiver.

"Hmmm?"

He couldn't, for the life of him, remember what had come out of her delectable mouth.

"We have our differences, our problems, but I'm glad you're the father," she whispered again. "I can't do this without you."

He felt warmth spread through his body. For the millionth time, it seemed, he wished she was in love with him, too. It wouldn't make what he had done any less horrific but maybe it would pave the way to forgiveness.

"And I know I've said otherwise, but I can't imagine anyone else carrying my child," he admitted. "I can't imagine my seed flourishing in another woman. I'm going to try my hardest to be worthy of that honour. I'm going to try my hardest to make you proud of me, Keri."

He felt her arms tighten around him. For a moment he imagined he felt her heartbeat, too. But he knew it couldn't have been, because his heart was beating too hard and too loud for him to have heard hers, too.

He released a slow breath and repeated what he'd had to tell himself over and over again the past few days.

_I can do this._

_I can do this._

* * *

**Thank you everyone for reviewing the last chapter. Hope you'll stick with me as I take this story to the finish line.**


	32. Chapter 32

**Agnesita1385 where are you? Enable your PM right now!**

* * *

"I'll go and wait for you over there," Jeff said.

Keri smiled at him and watched as a smile appeared on his lips, too. It sent shivers down her body as it had done everytime the past few days.

"I won't be long," she said, then watched as he turned and carried their bags to the chairs in the lobby where Matt and Shane were already waiting.

How was it that in all these years she'd never noticed how utterly gorgeous he was? The past few days she'd spent more time with him willingly than any other time in their relationship and had had a chance to really get to know him. She'd already known the guy was sex on a stick but taking the time to become his friend was showing he was a whole lot of other things, too.

She liked that. A lot. And it was worrying her.

"I say it's time to go in for the kill. Don't stop until that man has a ring on your finger."

She rolled her eyes at Randy's whispered suggestion but didn't take them off Jeff for a second.

"I say you should wait. He'll come to you."

At John's whisper she turned her head to look at him. They were standing on either side of her and watching Jeff, too.

"You two really made that stupid bet, didn't you?" she asked.

"I can never resist a challenge," John grinned.

"But this is a challenge you're going to lose, Johnny; because Keri's going to get home, lock the boy in her room and have her wicked way with him. Aren't u, darlin'?"

She turned to the other side to frown at Randy.

"Stop talking about my love life_"

"Or lack, thereof," Randy cut in.

She didn't even have the strength to finish her sentence. She shook her head and turned to face her friends.

"Are you guys going home?"

"No. We're driving to the next city then chilling for a day," John answered.

"I'll be available anytime to give you tips," Randy added seriously. "You know, if you need to knock him out with anything first before you tie him to your bed, that sort of thing."

"Okay, I'm walking away now," she said.

Randy grinned and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm only messing with you, kid. Make sure you call me after your antenatal appointment, okay? You might be the closest I'll get to babies so I might as well know how it works."

She got a hug from John, too, then was about to walk away when she saw Mark coming out of the elevators. She smiled a little sadly. He'd had his meeting with Vince now, and she supposed that meant he wouldn't be coming back on the road for a while. She'd probably never see him again. And that was sad because she liked the grumpy man.

She walked to him and he stopped in his tracks, probably unsure of her next move as he always was.

"So this is it, huh?" she asked.

"Yes," Mark answered.

She was surprised at that. He never talked back unless he absolutely had to.

"That's a shame," she said, looking down at her fingers.

"Maybe a little bit," Mark said.

"If I promise not to call you Marky will you let me call you and actually talk to me?"

She'd had his number close to a week now and called him whenever she could. He always answered but he never actually spoke back to her. She wasn't even sure he actually listened to anything she said or if he just put the phone somewhere and carried on with whatever he'd have been doing before she called.

"Maybe," he answered.

She smiled up at him. That was good enough for her.

She moved closer to him and threw her arms around him, even though she knew how much it annoyed him. But she was surprised when his arms came around her, too.

"Take care of yourself. Make sure you eat right. And tell me when the kid is born," Mark said.

He held her only for a few seconds. Then he let go of her and removed her arms from him before he picked up his bag again. Only a few seconds, but it had been enough to have his co-workers gawk at him. She knew he wouldn't like that; he was probably regretting hugging her back already.

He walked away from her without looking back but she chuckled as she watched him walk past everybody without a word and out of the hotel.

She was still smiling when she made her way to the gang. And her smile grew when Jeff's hand settled protectively on the small of her back as they made their way to their waiting rental.

She knew she had to stop doing that. At some point in the future, Jeff would move on. How would she protect herself if she let him in like this?

_Let him in where?_

She didn't answer that question. Him treating her like this felt nice and she didn't really want to stop.

Vince had hired a big rental for them with a driver and one of his camera men. She had heard that the rest of them had already gone ahead. That was a good thing. Maybe with people constantly watching her she wouldn't do anything stupid. Like lock Jeff up in her room like Randy suggested.

* * *

Jeff noticed the bumpy motion of the drive kept waking Keri up everytime she dozed off. He inwardly sighed, then leaned over to pull her across the space he had intentionally left between them on the backseat. He leaned back against the door and settled her in the crook of his arm so she was lying on his chest.

She smiled gratefully at him and fell asleep straight away.

He inhaled a breath, but her fresh scent filled his nostrils and made him react to her like he always did. Even after all this time, he was no closer to taming his desire for her.

He pushed a strand of her beautiful hair out of her face and looked down at her peaceful features. He hadn't upset her at all the past few days; she seemed more relaxed with him. He liked that. It was worth all the effort he had to put in not to just ravish her like he'd done before.

Why had he been a dick to her before? If he hadn't done that, there would be nothing stopping him from actively pursuing the relationship he wanted. She might have been his wife by now...

He looked away, only to meet Shane's eyes.

But he couldn't face his friend's knowing gaze for long. He looked out at the passing scenery, instead.

"You look good together," Shane said. "Really good."

Well, that wasn't going to make any difference, was it?

"You should give her Mum's ring," Matt said.

This made him whip his head around to his brother.

"I know. I'm supposed to give it to my future wife. But I think you should give it to Keri."

He closed his eyes and looked out of the window again.

They didn't know what he'd done. If they did, they wouldn't be encouraging him.

"She doesn't want to marry me," he reminded them hoarsely.

"Maybe because you still haven't told her how you feel," Shane pointed out.

"It's better this way."

"Better?" Matt snorted. "It's painful to watch. I said I wasn't going to butt in this time, but bro, you need to talk to her. I mean, really talk."

"Can we just leave it for now?" he asked, though he made sure his tone told them he wasn't really asking.

The rest of the journey sped by peacefully enough, and by the time they had dropped off Shane then got home, it was almost noon and Keri was stirring.

He felt a little cramped from sitting in the same position for so long, but he'd have done anything to make sure she was comfortable. He trailed the back of his fingers gently down the side of her face as she opened her eyes, and wondered if she had told him the truth. Had she really enjoyed their first time at the hotel? Did she really not think he had taken advantage of her? Raped her? She had been upset when he'd compared himself to Drew, but maybe that was only because she'd wanted to make him feel better about what he'd done.

"What's going on in that head of yours, Nero?" she asked sleepily.

He almost told her.

But then he realised, it didn't really matter if she forgave him. He would never forgive himself.

"Nothing. We're home now," he answered.

She lifted herself from him and he felt a loss. His body was as sensitised as it always was when he was close to her, but, as unbearable as it was, he didn't want the broken contact. So when they got out of the car, he tentatively reached for her hand.

She took it without hesitation.

And she smiled up at him.

Such a beautiful smile. Such a beautiful face.

And none of it could ever truly be his.

But he smiled back at her, because whether he wanted it or not, her smiles did things to him. Things he liked. Things he liked very much.

He decided to get their bags later, focusing instead on the woman he was leading to the house.

"I'm starved," Keri said. "At this rate I'm going to be a disgusting blob soon."

"You'll never look disgusting," he said, looking back at her.

He still had the goofy smile on his face. He could feel it stretching his features but he couldn't stop it.

"What do you say to lunch somewhere in town?" he asked. "Just the two of us."

It wouldn't be their first meal alone in public. Over the years, maybe after spending hours trying to get her out of one mess or another, they'd often stopped to eat somewhere.

But the situation was different now.

"I'm game if you are," Keri answered. "I'll just freshen up first."

Matt was walking down the hallway going through a stack of mail when they walked into the house.

"I'm going to do my laundry then I'll sleep the rest of the day away," Matt said as he handed him some envelopes. "See you guys later."

Keri went up the stairs with Matt, and he couldn't help following her with his eyes until she'd disappeared at the top.

Then he looked down at his mail. Most of it was junk, but the biggest envelope had his attorney's stamp on it. He knew what it was. He just hoped Keri wouldn't throw the gesture in his face.

* * *

Lunch had been relaxed. Or at least as relaxed as it could get when she kept seeing him naked. The conversation had been easy, even with the cameras around. It still shocked her just how easy talking to him had become. Except for when Jeff had tried so many years back when they had first met, they'd never really been friendly.

They had a lot in common.

That fact warmed her heart, though she told herself it was only because of the baby. Since she had decided she didn't want kids from different fathers, she wasn't going to have any more children. It was only natural that she became friends with her only child's father. The baby would need a father figure. And, judging by all the times Jeff had pulled her back on the straight and narrow, he was as good a father figure as they came.

And that was the only reason she was deliriously happy every time he smiled at her.

"Are you tired? I need to check on the house real quick," he asked as they drove back from town.

"No, go ahead. Have they finished building?" she asked.

"I think they're doing the finishing touches," Jeff said.

"Really? Wow," she said.

But something in her head insisted on reminding her that if Jeff's house was finished it meant that soon he wouldn't need to sleep at Matt's anymore.

It didn't take long to get to the large gates he'd installed for security reasons, though at the moment they stood wide open because of all the activity in the yard. The same ancient trees that had shielded the old house still stood, but she noticed the landscapers seemed to have worked their magic and turned Jeff's yard into a dream. It was beautiful and colourful, and as the car drove down the fancy new driveway, she thought she saw a sort of maze growing through the trees. She couldn't wait to explore that.

The house came into view and she had to take a breath. It was huge. Yet it was understated, and once the builders finished, it would look perfect with the new landscape for a background.

"It's gorgeous," she said.

"You haven't even seen the inside, yet," Jeff chuckled as he stopped the car.

He led her to the entrance and took the time to find two safety helmets from the builders.

"It's safe, but just in case," he explained.

The interior was bare but she could already imagine the things Jeff would decorate all the space with. He showed her endless rooms, sleek and modern but with a touch of old. Some of the floors were a gorgeous, natural hardwood but some rooms had marble floors. Some rooms had beautiful beams lining the ceiling but a few had skylights. A mixture of designs, yet for Jeff it worked perfectly.

"This is amazing, Jeff. I bet Matt's going to get so jealous once this place is done," she said as she ran a hand over the amazing hand carved banister.

They had come back downstairs because she wanted to see the outside properly. Jeff led her through the house to the back door where the first thing she saw was a Jacuzzi. She could imagine doing all sorts of things to Jeff in that Jacuzzi... And the half finished pool. Hell, even on the freshly laid out patch of grass beyond it.

She cleared her throat.

"That was going to be my studio," Jeff said, pointing to a little building that stood on its own and seemed to be mostly glass.

"Was? You should still make it a studio. I bet the light you'll get in there will be amazing."

"I could. But it's not my house anymore," Jeff said.

She twirled around to face him.

"You sold it? Did you run out of cash? Why didn't you say anything, I could have given you some," she said.

How awful! This place screamed Jeff to the very last door knob. It couldn't belong to anybody else.

A look crossed his face.

"You would have given me money?" he asked.

She shrugged.

He might have spent his life getting her out of trouble, but whenever he needed her to, she'd stepped up to the plate, too. Even if she'd taunted him about it afterwards.

"I owe you a lot. I can't allow this to happen," she said.

She still had plenty of Matt's money. She was planning to use it for the baby's future, but she was sure Jeff would repay it when he got back to his feet.

Before the baby, she would have given him the money to stop Matt from worrying and because Jeff was part of the only group of people in the whole world who genuinely cared for her. But now she would do it because...

She met Jeff's eyes and inhaled a sharp, painful breath.

"Are you alright? Is it the baby?" he asked, genuine concern on his face.

Concern for his baby.

"No, the baby's fine," she said.

But she doubted she would ever be the same again.

* * *

Keri looked sickly. She said she was fine but he could tell she was lying. He led her to a chair on the patio that the builders had brought in then went in search for some water. She looked slightly better when he came back with a bottle.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Nothing. I was just... Have you signed any papers yet? Is it too late to get the house back?" she asked.

She had a frown on her face. Genuine concern. For him. And she was more than ready to look out for him the way she looked out for her cousin, even though he knew the last thing she wanted right now was a financial problem.

He got the warm feeling all over again.

"Yes, it's too late. I've already signed the papers," he said as he reached for the big envelope he had tucked into his jeans.

He unfolded it and handed it to her, watching the confusion on her face.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Open it."

She did. And as she read the documents the confusion cleared up, only to be replaced by a look he couldn't work out. And shimmering tears in her eyes.

"Jeff... What have you done?" she whispered as she blinked her tears back. "You've shed blood, sweat and tears building this house. Twice over. I can't let you do this."

"It's just a house. I can always build another one," he said. "This one now belongs to our baby. And until the baby is twenty-one, you have to take care of it for him or her."

"It's too much_"

"For you and our child? Never!" he declared. "It's something I can do right now for the baby, because maybe when he or she is twenty one, who knows, I may not be able to afford it. And it's something I can do right now for you, because I truly want you to feel stable and secure. I don't ever want you to worry about a roof over your head; about a place you belong; about anything. Please. Say you accept."

The tears finally escaped and rolled down her cheeks. Then she lifted her head and he saw those gorgeous hazel eyes. They were shining with something he'd never seen before but he didn't have time to analyse it because she nodded her head and the warmth exploded inside of him.

Keri would raise their child in this house like he had dreamt so often.

"Thank you," he whispered as he knelt down in front of her and pulled her into a hug.

It wasn't marriage, but his child would be brought up in the house he had built specifically for his future wife and their children. That was good enough for him.

Keri held on to him tightly; he could feel her shoulders shaking as she cried silently.

"You don't know what this means... Thank you," she whispered.

He let go of her before he gave in to his urges. He gently wiped her tears and then stood up before he helped her up, too.

"It's been a long ass day. Let's go home," he said.

* * *

"You've been unnaturally quiet," Matt teased as he sat next to her on the sofa.

She settled against him and tucked her feet underneath her. Music was playing on the TV but she wasn't paying any attention to it.

She had too much on her mind.

"Jeff signed his house over to the baby," she revealed.

"Really? Wow. How do you feel about that?"

"Grateful. Confused. I don't know. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I knew from the beginning that he would take care of his child."

She'd believed he would take the baby from her, but now she practically owned his house until their baby was twenty one. If they ever fought over the baby, in the eyes of the law, she was now more stable than he was.

"He's taking care of you, too," Matt pointed out.

And they all knew why.

"I guess," she said. "You know your brother better than I do. Any ideas about what's going through his head?"

"I think you should talk to him about that," Matt smiled. "But I know one thing. He really loves that house. Now it's yours and the baby's."

She sighed and stood up. Matt was right. It was doing her no good just speculating. She needed to talk to Jeff.

"Is he still outside?" she asked.

He'd disappeared out there as soon as they'd finished dinner and done their joint video log.

"Back porch," Matt answered.

She found Jeff watching the faint red and orange trails left by the dying sun, a cigarette between his fingers. And his torso was bare. He was standing with his back to her, and every time he put his cigarette to his lips, the muscles on his back bunched up. She swallowed thickly.

It was quite warm; he must have taken his top off to get the most of the slight breeze. But how was she supposed to have this important conversation while staring at his naked chest?

She remembered how smooth and well defined the chest was; how hard and hot... And she remembered how it tapered to his waist, and the sprinkling of hair that went lower still...

She caught herself. She had come to talk about something important.

And as soon as she stopped looking at his hard body, she would remember what it was.

His feet were planted wide apart and his free hand was in his jeans' pocket. He seemed tense. And all she wanted to do was get rid of all that tension. She knew the best way how. Or, rather, he knew the best way how. She had no idea what he did, but he did it to her so well.

She wanted him to do it again.

Even if it was only going to be for a little while. Even if he tired of her. She wanted a few more memories of his hot body on top of hers before he found a woman to settle down with.

Again, she was knocked over by the truth of her heart.

She'd fallen in love with the son of a bitch.

And now it was inevitable that she would get hurt.

* * *

He felt her before she even said anything. Every fibre of his being slowly coiled up like a spring until he was just a bundle of nerves. She didn't make a move, but his breathing hitched up as the anticipation heightened.

But it was wrong.

He took a long pull of his cigarette as he tried to get his thoughts in order. But all he could see was her naked body under him. All he could feel was her hot pussy tightly gripping him. All he could taste was the sweetness between her legs.

He closed his eyes as he felt himself harden. How was he supposed to fight this? It was too strong. Lately, even the thoughts of Drew Christos and of his guilt weren't enough to strengthen his resolve. He found himself searching for any excuse, any reason to just give in.

And she was providing it, by just standing quietly behind him.

He stiffened when he sensed her moving. What would she do?

After what seemed like an eternity, she stood next to him. So close she was almost touching him. He could feel the heat of her bendy little body. He swallowed.

"Hi," Keri said.

"Hi," he answered.

He had to clear his throat because his voice sounded like a croak.

He threw his forgotten cigarette away, but he didn't turn around to face her. If he did, she'd stand no chance.

"So I've been thinking," Keri started, then paused for a little bit before she said, "maybe you should live with us. I mean, it's your house, it's your baby. It doesn't seem fair that you have to be homeless again."

He turned his head to look at her but he couldn't see her face clearly in the growing darkness. Did she have any idea what she was asking?

"I mean... I know you have your own life, I won't interfere with it," she continued. "But when you go back on the road you're going to miss a lot of special moments with the baby, I don't want you to have to miss anything when you're home, too."

The baby. Of course.

He brushed off his ridiculous jealousy. It didn't matter that she only needed him because of the baby. It was actually a good thing. She couldn't depend on him too much when she had plans to fall in love with and marry another man.

He took a deep breath. He'd been doing that a lot lately.

"Do you really want me to?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Then yes, I'll move in with you," he said.

He'd take cold showers hundreds of times a day if he had to. While she didn't belong to another man, he'd stick as close to her as his guilt allowed.

She smiled at him. His eyes zoomed in on her luscious lips. It had been too long since he'd felt their softness. He saw the tip of her tongue dart out to wet them and realised she'd stopped smiling. She felt it, too, he was sure. They had too much chemistry for it to have died down so quickly for her.

But even though he knew he couldn't encourage a physical relationship, he couldn't tear his eyes away from those lips.

They came closer. He couldn't tell whether he was moving towards her or if she was leaning closer. It didn't matter. He wanted just one taste. One last taste.

His lips met hers. Immediately his body caught fire. He moaned against her softness, begging for yet dreading the moment she would allow him to fully taste her. Then she did. She opened her mouth to allow him entry, and he plunged his tongue into her like a starving man. And as he was known, he was lost. The taste, the heat, the touch of her tongue on his...

His fingers got lost in her thick hair as he held her head in place and took what he wanted. But when he felt her fingers on his naked chest, burning him as they explored, he let go of her head and put his arms around her. He imprisoned her against him, loving the feel of her, longing for this moment to last a lifetime. She started making the sexy little sounds he loved so much, making him harder. Needing more contact, he lowered his hands until he cupped her juicy ass, and then used her cheeks to push her up his body.

She mewled and clung to his neck without taking her lips from his. Then she swung her legs around him. Just like she used to do right before he'd plunged his dick right up her hot tightness. He groaned into her mouth. This little woman would be the death of him.

"Take me upstairs," she whispered when he finally parted their lips to taste her skin. "I don't care that this won't last."

He felt like she'd thrown a bucket of cold water on him. If she hadn't opened her mouth, he would have taken her upstairs anyway.

He'd almost forgotten that for her, this was only about sex. And when she tired of him, she would find someone more suitable to settle down with.

And that was what he wanted for her, too.

He slowly lowered her, looking away from the question in her eyes.

"I'm going to sleep," he said, turning away from her. "I'll see you in the morning."

He knew his rejection would hurt her but he was too raw to explain himself. Too raw to play nice when his heart was breaking all over again.

He stopped briefly when he saw a camera man at the other end of the porch. They had been less obtrusive this time but they were always there. Capturing every moment of his heartbreak.

With a shake of his head he went inside and straight up to his room.

* * *

**Well, damn! I wanted some sex in this one. Guess Jeff has other ideas. Lol.**

**Thank you for your wonderful reviews. And special thanks to all the new followers. You guys rock.**

**Much love.**

**Baybie**.


	33. Chapter 33

**It's been 2 years 6 mnths since I started this story. I give all of you permission to spank me. :-)**

**For sailormama**

* * *

Jeff paused for a second to gather his thoughts and then knocked on the bedroom door. He knocked again when there was no answer.

Maybe she had already gone downstairs. No, he would have heard her. He'd been up all night; he seemed to have heard every single sound the household had made in the night as he'd paced his room. He would have heard her walk past to get to the stairs. So maybe she was still sleeping. He opened the door and peered in. Her bed was made and there wasn't a sign of her. But her scent still lingered in the air. He walked in, unable to help himself, and took a deep but very unsatisfying breath.

He didn't need the scent of her. He needed to be buried deep inside her.

He was about to turn and walk out when Keri came out of the bathroom. Naked. In the few seconds before she noticed him his eyes took in the delicious curves, all the delicious skin, the delicious full breasts, the delicious little shaven pussy and above it, the precious slight bump. His body hardened straight away.

"_What the fuck?_" Keri screamed as she used her hands to cover her private parts.

He forced himself to turn around.

"I'm sorry. I knocked, I thought you were still sleeping," he said.

"Well, I'm not. So get out."

"Okay. Want me to make you some breakfast before we go?"

"I can fend for myself."

He didn't need to see her face to know she was angry. The venom was dripping from every word she spoke.

"Ah. Okay. I'll wait for you downstairs."

He walked out without looking back and took a moment to lean back against her closed door. They would need to talk about last night. He didn't want her angry with him.

Slowly, he made his way downstairs and followed the voices in the kitchen. They seemed to be arguing about something and he really wasn't in the mood for that. But he needed to get some water and fix a quick breakfast for Keri. If he left it to her all she would have for breakfast would be juice or something, and he wasn't going to let her starve the baby just because she was upset with him.

"Did you know?"

He frowned as he looked up at his brother. Matt was very angry about something but he wasn't in the least bit interested to find out what.

"No," he answered.

He opened the fridge to get some orange juice and milk out, and set it on the counter by the cereal, ignoring Shannon and Kimo. Why the hell was everyone doing here so early in the fucking morning anyway?

"I find that hard to believe. You usually cover up everything she does," Matt said.

He turned around to face Matt again and folded his arms across his chest. Obviously this was about Keri.

"What's she done?"

"You tell me. What's she been doing the past six months?" Matt asked. "And don't tell me you don't know."

He rolled his eyes and turned back around to pick some fruit out of the fruit bowl. He chose a banana, because she seemed to want those with every meal. Then he put a slice of bread in the toaster.

"I'm not in the mood for this. You either want to tell me what's happened or you don't," he said as he found a bowl and poured some cereal in it.

"What job has she been doing?"

He paused in the process of pouring some orange juice. Who the hell told him? It had to be Vince. If he played back any of the earlier recordings he would know exactly what Keri used to do. And since the past week had been peaceful, the man probably wanted a little drama.

Well, he wasn't going to get any.

"I fixed it," he said without turning back.

"You fixed it?" Matt snorted.

He turned back slowly to look at his brother.

"Yeah. I did. So drop it."

"You didn't think this was something I'd want to know?"

"I said, drop it. I won't have her upset in any way. By _anyone_. You understand that?"

"Oooh. Daddy Jeff has spoken," Shannon chuckled.

Jeff looked at Reject in irritation before turning back to put Keri's breakfast on a tray. It would probably be best if he kept her away from Matt for a little while.

But before he could carry the tray into the dining room, Keri walked in with a scowl on her face.

"I've made you some breakfast," he said.

"I said I can fend for myself," Keri snapped.

"Not in my kitchen you can't," Matt snorted. "Wait till you move to your own goddamn house if you want to burn something down that badly."

Jeff watched the scowl on Keri's face turn into a frown as she clashed gazes with Matt.

"I'm going to make lemon tea. How the hell will I burn that?" she asked as she found a teapot.

"You can burn anything," Matt grunted.

Matt took the teapot from her and they clashed gazes again.

"The fuck's wrong with you?"

"Oh, I don't know," Matt said as he turned to put water in the pot. "Maybe I need to loosen up a bit. Maybe I need to go out more; hang out in strip joints, shit like that."

Jeff saw the moment it clicked in Keri's head. He put the tray down and threw a gaze at his brother. Obviously Matt hadn't taken the warning seriously.

"Wh-What are you talkin' about?" Keri asked.

"You don't know? If I slip a twenty down your panties will it come to you?"

"That's enough," he growled, moving so he was standing between Matt and Keri. "I told you to leave it."

"I have friends everywhere. How could you two think I wouldn't find out?" Matt asked.

"This may come as news to you, big brother, but that's none of your business. It's her life. She can do whatever the hell she wants to do."

Matt's brow shot up.

"Really? All of a sudden it's none of my business?" Matt asked. He peered around him to look at Keri. "Is that how you feel, Keri?"

"No," Keri answered. "I'm sorry, Matt_"

"We have to go," he cut in. "We'll be late for the scan."

He didn't want Matt to make her feel bad about something she had already promised never to do again. And the last thing he wanted was a reminder of what had made him angry enough to rape her in the first place.

Keri grabbed the banana and water from the tray then quickly walked out of the room. Jeff waited until he knew she was out of earshot then stepped up to his brother.

"She's carrying my child. Do. Not. Stress. Her."

"She's my responsibility," Matt snapped back. "That doesn't change just because you knocked her up."

He glared at Matt but backed off. He was _so _not in the mood for this.

* * *

Keri put her seatbelt on then kept her eyes straight ahead.

"He'll calm down soon."

"I know," she sighed.

She just wished he hadn't found out at all. The last thing she needed right now was the look of disgust in Matt's eyes on top of everything else.

"You alright?" Jeff asked when the car started moving.

"Yeah."

What else could she say? She'd made a fool of herself last night, throwing herself at him like that when he had already stated he didn't want her like that anymore. Just because she'd fallen in love with him, it didn't mean his feelings for her had changed. She was just the mother of his child. Nothing more. The sooner she drilled that into her head the better it would be for everyone

"We should talk_"

"There's nothing to talk about," she cut in.

Besides, there were three other people in the car that Vince had hired for them. A driver, a camera guy and a sound guy seated opposite them with their stupid camera rolling. She didn't want to talk about how he had humiliated her in front of them.

They drove in silence for a little while but she could feel Jeff's eyes on her the whole time. It made her heart race and her palms sweaty. It took all she had not to look at him, too. She tried to keep herself busy by sipping on the water that she was required to drink for the scan.

"I'd already chosen furniture and stuff for the house but I've told them to put everything on hold so you can choose what you want," Jeff said when they finally drove into town.

"It's the baby's house. You can put whatever you want in there."

"Don't be like this," Jeff sighed.

"Like what? A woman who's nothing more than an incubator for your child? I thought that's what you wanted."

Damnit!

She almost bit her tongue out when she said that. She didn't want Jeff to know how she felt about him but that statement screamed that she wanted more from him.

"You're more than just the mother of my child and you know it," Jeff said softly.

She resisted the urge to say what exactly she had been to him before. That wouldn't make things any better.

"Oh, look. We're here," she said gratefully as she took her seatbelt off.

She wanted to get out of the car by herself but somehow Jeff was offering her his hand before she had even put her feet on the pavement. She took it only because she didn't want to seem childish to all the people who would eventually watch the show. But if it hadn't been for that she would have spat on that hand and got out of the car her damned self.

It would take her a while to get over this humiliation and rejection.

Because they had cameras they were led to a private waiting area so they wouldn't invade the other patients' privacy.

"Would you like a drink while we wait?" Jeff asked.

"No," she answered. "Thanks, but I couldn't possibly drink anymore."

But maybe she should have had one because it would have given her something else to concentrate on besides Jeff's huge frame sprawled in a chair opposite hers.

She bit her lip as her eyes travelled up his denim-clad leg to the hard stomach that was clearly defined under his muscle shirt. Did he have any idea what he did to her? For the first time in her life her head was completely turned. She hadn't felt such a loss of control over her life since her Uncle Drew… But she didn't want to compare any of her experiences with Jeff to that dark time. Fear had ruled her, then, but now this loss of control was brought on by such overwhelming need. Overwhelming desire. Love.

Why did it have to be so complicated? Why couldn't he just love her, too? How the hell would she live with this day after day, month after month, year after year? Asking him to move in with them had to be the stupidest thing she had ever done because it would be impossible to protect herself.

She let her eyes travel further up and met with his emerald ones. They were darkened with desire like he had watched her checking him out. Like he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Stop," he whispered. "You need to stop."

Keri blinked a few times and looked away. Of course he knew what she was thinking. How many times did she need to hear that she wasn't wanted before it got through her thick skull?

"We will see you now, Miss Christos."

With a thankful smile at the nurse, she stood up and followed, not bothering to turn back around because she knew her entourage was following, too.

They gave her some privacy to change into a hospital gown. Alone for the first time on what seemed like forever, she tried to drudge up the excitement she had felt before at the thought of seeing her baby again. Recent events seemed to have sucked that right out of her. The nurse weighed her and asked for a urine sample before she settled her on the exam table and then allowed everyone in. Jeff was next to her in an instant, taking her hand as if he thought having a baby together allowed him such liberties. She had to set boundaries if she was going to survive this at all.

She snatched her hand away and put it with the other over her little bump. She didn't dare to look at his face again.

Jeff put his hand back on his lap and glanced at the nurse. The woman gave him a sympathetic smile and continued getting everything ready for the doctor. He looked back at Keri's face and felt like a tool. She had placed a hard wall between them again and he didn't want it there. He didn't want things to go back to the way they were before the baby.

But what the hell was he supposed to do? Fuck her at her command until she had enough of him? It wasn't what she really needed. And though it was what he wanted with his whole being, it wasn't something he could give her anymore.

Doctor Jenkins walked in and greeted them all as he took his place on the other side of Keri.

"Have you been feeling better?" he asked as he checked her chart.

"A little. I still get nauseous but the vomiting stopped," Keri answered.

"Good. The nurse will check your samples while I just check you over, okay?"

The doctor checked her blood pressure, listened to her heart and checked for any swelling while he asked her some questions.

"Everything is okay. I just need you to keep working on getting your weight back up, Keri," Dr. Jenkins said when he finished the exam. "Is she eating better, Jeff?"

"Yeah. I make sure of it," he answered.

"And… ah… what we discussed at the last appointment," the doctor started, looking at the other people in the room briefly with a little frown on his face, "have you worked that issue out?"

"Yes," Keri answered.

She didn't explain anymore but the doctor looked at him with a raised brow. All he could manage was a huge grin. Yes. He was the daddy.

"Congratulations, Jeffrey," the doctor smiled. "I take it the war is over?"

Doctor Jenkins had a few beers with his father once or twice a month. He knew their history as well as anybody in the small town.

Without waiting for an answer the doctor got the scan machine ready and asked Keri to lift her gown. Then he put some gel on her stomach.

Jeff risked a glance at Keri again and saw her eyes were already glued to the screen. It was a far cry from how she had been at the first scan she'd had but he could tell how nervous she was. He took her hand again, and held it firmly when she tried to move it again. She turned to face him and the look in her eyes almost broke him.

How had what he'd done hurt her so much? She had already said she would never fall in love with him and that he wasn't her type. Hell, she'd even thrown his proposal in his face. Surely she could see that given those circumstances – even without the constant guilt on his part - fucking again was out of the question?

The sound of a beating heart drew both their eyes to the little screen.

And held it.

For an eternity Jeff watched the baby move slowly within the protection of Keri's womb, captivated. Awed. That tiny little thing was his.

"Well, look at that," Doctor Jenkins said, pointing to a specific area on the screen.

For a moment he panicked when he saw what Dr. Jenkins was pointing at. Something was wrong with the baby. It had four hands! But his breath caught when it dawned on him. And when he watched the second head appear from behind the other, then another pair of legs, he couldn't help the tears that welled in his eyes.

When he looked at Keri he saw tears down her cheeks. He was still clutching her hand but it wasn't enough anymore. He took her face in his hands and gently kissed her lips.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Twins," Keri said.

"Twins," he repeated.

"There's the second heartbeat," the doctor said, "hiding behind his sibling. He or she was probably fast asleep at the first scan."

Jeff blinked his tears back when he remembered where they were. His eyes returned to the screen, feeling overwhelmed again as he watched the second baby wake up. He didn't let go of Keri hand. In fact, he was pretty sure she was gripping his just as hard.

* * *

By the time Jeff opened the front door for her, Keri was feeling a little shell shocked. The joy of seeing her babies was starting to rub off.

Two babies?

_How the fuck _was she going to raise two babies?

"Do you want to put your feet up for a little while?" Jeff asked. "I can make you that tea you never got to have earlier."

She nodded her head and walked to the den. Her steps faltered when she saw Matt in there. It was probably a good idea to avoid him until he'd calmed down. But her legs didn't feel like they were going to support her much longer so she sat herself down in the first chair she got to.

"What happened?"

Matt was next to her, a concerned look on his face. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

"Is something wrong with the baby?"

"Two babies," she whispered.

Concern turned to happiness.

"You're having twins?" Matt asked, pulling her into his arms. "I'm going to be an uncle twice over? That's great news, Keri."

"No, it isn't," she said with a shaky breath. "I'm screwed. The babies are screwed. I can't... I can't do it."

"Of course you can," Matt smiled. "If anyone can keep two little monsters in line it's you."

She was grateful for Matt's comforting words but there was no way she was going to be able to do this.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered, biting her lip when she felt tears falling to her cheeks.

"You're going to put your feet up and not worry about anything," Jeff said as he walked into the room with a tray.

He set it down on the table and knelt down in front of her, taking both her hands in his. She put aside her issues with him for now because this was a lot bigger than that.

"And you're going to accept my help graciously," he added. "You're not alone in this, Keri."

"I'm scared," she admitted.

Dr. Jenkins had given her a list of instructions that she had to follow to the letter because both babies were smaller than they should have been. So already she had fucked up. Jeff had stopped to get her a bunch of supplements and Dr' Jenkins had told her not to worry because he would monitor her closer, but still...

_Two _babies?

"I know. I am, too," Jeff said with a little smile. "But in less than five month you're going to have my children. I can't begin to tell you how happy that makes me. I'll take care of all of you, I promise."

She wanted to believe him. Everything would be so much easier if she could believe him. She looked up at Matt who still had his arm around her shoulders.

"And I'll be here to spoil them rotten," Matt said, "if I can get them out of their grandpa's hands. You know he's been hounding us for years to make sure we don't kill off his bloodline."

"I haven't told him yet," she groaned. "Shit. He obviously knows by now, he watches the wrestling every week."

"You rest for a little while then we'll go and see him after lunch," Jeff suggested.

"He's going to be so disappointed with us," she said.

"He's going to be thrilled. Trust me," Matt smiled, looking at both of them.

Jeff smiled at her too before he let her hands go and moved to the table to pour her some tea.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Matt said. "Sometimes I forget you're not a kid anymore."

"Don't apologise. I deserved it," she said. "I'm sorry I disappointed you."

"You'll never be a disappointment, darlin'," Matt said, kissing the top of her head. "Next time, if you need money or anything that badly, just ask. Okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

Jeff was shitting himself. Matt had lied, their dad was going to be more than disappointed. Legend was going to rip him a new one for what he had done. Probably not in front of Keri, but he had no doubt he was going to get very angry. His dad was a good man; level headed and easy to get along with. But when anyone messed with Keri... Though, now that he knew a little bit of Keri's history, he understood his father's protectiveness. He just had to make the old man understand that he felt the same way. He'd never let anything or anyone hurt her.

And he'd have to make the old man understand that he didn't regret the outcome of his brief but incredible union with Keri.

How could he? Keri was going to be in his life forever thanks to their kids, and that made the twins the best thing that had ever happened to him. Even if they would be born out of wedlock. His father was going to have a lot to say about that.

He opened the door to their family home and let Keri in first. Of course, two of the camera crew followed behind him.

"Dad?" he called out.

"I'm in the kitchen."

Keri let out a breath. She'd thankfully stopped being pissed with him for what had happened last night but she'd been tense since they'd got into the car. She probably knew he was going to get into trouble for this, too.

"It'll be fine," he said reassuringly.

They walked to the back of the house where the kitchen was and found Legend at the table. He and Matt had been calling him that for so long that many people didn't bother with his real name anymore. He was shelling some peas into a bowl in front of him. They'd always grown their own vegetables here, and caught their own fish. At one point, before all the glory of the WWE, they'd kept chickens as well but they'd stopped when Keri started befriending and naming them. It had gotten kind of difficult to swallow them when they knew they were eating 'Rose' or 'Emily', and Keri recited their brief histories as they ate.

He'd hated Keri for that for quite a while, because he really loved his chicken.

"Keri!" Legend said as he stood up and hugged her. "You've been home for weeks. What took you so goddamn long to see me?"

"I've been kinda busy," Keri said apologetically as she took the chair opposite his father.

"Hi, Dad," he said.

His dad gave him a look then turned back to Keri. He knew. And that meant he'd had some time to come up with the perfect punishment. He let out a breath to brace himself before he pulled a chair close to Keri's.

His dad offered them a drink, which he refused because he wanted to get this over with. Keri refused too, though he had a feeling it was because she was too nervous.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Legend asked as he began shelling his peas again.

"We've just been busy lately, like Keri said," he answered.

His dad already knew about the reality show. He'd had to explain when he'd shown up on his dad's doorstep with a camera crew a couple of weeks ago when he'd moved back here.

"Yeah. Very busy," Legend said dryly.

Keri looked up at him in worry. He took her hand, gave her another reassuring smile and looked back at his father. Legend's eyes were on their entwined hands, then they rose to meet his evenly.

"We have something to tell you," he started.

Legend put the peas down and folded his arms across his chest. Obviously the man wasn't going to make it easy for him. It was quite obvious Keri was pregnant; Legend didn't need to have watched the shows to know that. The little bump under her shirt was undeniable.

"First, you should know that this is the best thing that's ever happened to me," he started. "And I know you worry, but I'll take care of Keri. I always do."

He looked down at Keri's face briefly then back to his father.

"You're going to be a grandpa. We're having twins," he said.

Legend's brow lifted but he didn't show any other reaction. He couldn't tell what the old man was thinking.

"Twins?"

Legend looked at Keri and she nodded.

"I should have told you sooner," Keri said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise," Legend said. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault."

His father looked at him again, and he knew he was being blamed for getting her pregnant, not for waiting too long to tell him.

"I'm going to take care of her," he promised again. "And your grandkids will want for nothin'."

"Oh, I'm sure," Legend said.

Then the old man leaned back in his chair.

"So," he continued, "when's the wedding?"


	34. Chapter 34

"_So when's the wedding?"_

Jeff felt Keri's grip tighten on his hand and he looked over at her. He wished he could tell his father that he would wed her in a heartbeat if he could. But he wasn't going to put that much pressure on Keri. It was his fault he was in this position. He wasn't going to make the situation awkward by revealing his feelings.

"Um..."

He looked over at his father and saw the hardness in his eyes. Obviously he wasn't going to be happy with his answer. But there was nothing he could do about it. And nothing he said would change their situation.

"We're not getting married," he stated.

Legend leaned forward and folded his arms on the table.

"Really? May I ask why?"

This was definitely the calm before the storm.

"We're just not, Dad. And now that we're having twins I think that's the furthest thing on Keri's mind."

Legend's brow lifted a fraction. He wondered if it meant that his father had picked up on the slip of words. It was the furthest thing on Keri's mind, but he should have said it was furthest from his.

"Are you aware that the last thing Keri wanted while she was growing up was a bastard child?"

Keri visibly flinched beside him. He narrowed his eyes on his father, wondering what the old man was playing at. He had to know how those words had hurt her.

"I know," he answered through his teeth, using his thumb to stroke the back of her hand. "But Keri and the kids will be my family no matter what our marital status is. They won't be bastards."

"Oh, so you're going to give them our name, then?"

He clenched his jaw but didn't look away from Legend. He'd expected to have this talk with him in private so he could set the old man straight on a few things.

"Dad, I love you a lot, you know I do. But this is complicated and I think you should respect the decision that we've made. I wish things were different but they're not."

He felt Keri tense beside him and then take her hand from his. He glanced at her and frowned when he saw how upset she was. Legend needed to be more tactful.

"Were you also aware that you've destroyed a lot of her dreams because you were so careless?" Legend asked, ignoring his plea.

"Yes," he answered tightly. "We're working on that."

"The only way you can fix that is if you marry her, kid."

"Keri can marry whoever she wants," he said.

"And where will that put you and the twins? Second best?"

He clenched his jaw again.

"Keri will always put our kids first," he snapped.

"Oh, I know that. But I wonder if _you _understand that."

He frowned at his father. Of course he understood that. He may not have a few weeks ago, but he understood perfectly now. Keri would never raise her kids the way she had been raised. The fact that she was already worrying about their security meant she would always strive to protect them.

"I understand perfectly."

"No, you don't. If you did you would have come here to tell me you were getting married," Legend said.

"Dad, stop it," he warned.

"Guys, don't fight," Keri finally said. "We made this decision together, Gil. Don't blame Jeff. You know what our relationship is like; it would be a bad idea to bring children into the middle of it."

"You look like you're getting on just fine to me," Legend said, finally looking at Keri. "Is this really what you want?"

"It's what I want," she said.

He felt like someone had just hammered a twelve inch nail through his heart. Again.

"And is it what you want, Jeff?"

He hesitated. His eyes trailed a pattern he'd made on the table when he'd been a kid for a moment before he met his father's eyes again. For some reason the man had a smile on his face.

"Yes," he answered.

"Well, alright then. Seems you kids have it all figured out," Legend said as he started working on his peas again. "Now tell me about my grandkids."

He frowned. Where was the explosion that he had come prepared for? Was this a mind game?

"We brought the DVDs of the scan if you want to see them," Keri offered.

"You go set it up," Legend said. "I'm almost done here."

Keri left the kitchen to do as she'd been asked. He remained because he knew the conversation was far from over.

"You poor, stupid little boy," Legend chuckled. "I thought Matt was shitting me."

His eyes narrowed. The fuck had Matt been saying now?

"When did he tell you?"

"The night that no good bastard and his sister came to visit."

Their eyes met across the table.

"Thank you," his Dad said.

He nodded, once again wishing the cameras were not there. He'd formed so many scenarios in his head about what had happened and got angrier with each one. When all of this was over he was getting justice for Keri by any means necessary.

Legend finally finished the peas and then looked up at him again.

"I know you'll take care of Keri. That's all you've done ever since she came into our lives," Legend said.

"So what was that all about? You made her feel like shit."

"I just wanted to see something."

Legend smiled as he said this. Jeff had a feeling Matt had told their father a lot more than just about the pregnancy and the visit from Drew and Donna.

"And did you?" he asked.

"Yes. I saw everything I needed to see," Legend said, his smile a lot wider.

* * *

How many times did her heart have to break before she got it? He wished things were different but they weren't? He wished he could marry her but he couldn't because he wasn't in love with her.

"We have to leave early tomorrow to get to the airport," Jeff said as he opened her bedroom door. "I'll wake you up."

"Okay," she sighed as she walked to her bed and sat down.

She was exhausted. And no matter how excited everyone seemed to be about the twins she was still trying to process that. And she was still trying to process the whole situation with Jeff.

"I'm going to pack up all the catalogues for you to choose what you want for the house. I read that twins come early; I want us to have everything ready as soon as possible."

"Okay."

"We also have to start buying clothes and stuff," Jeff continued.

"Okay," she said again.

"And I think you should take it easy from now on. Maybe we should talk to Vince about bringing the valet job to an end."

Jeff had followed her in and was leaning against her dresser with his arms folded across his chest.

"You had enough of me on the road with you?" she muttered.

"Of course not. I want you close to me in case you need me. But Dr. Jenkins said you should concentrate on eating right and resting."

"Whatever," she sighed. "You can make any arrangements you want."

Jeff sighed and walked over to kneel in front of her.

"I know you're upset about what Dad said. He didn't say it to hurt you," he said.

"I know," she sighed. "I'm not upset, I'm just tired."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she lied.

Jeff held her gaze for a moment but she looked away when she thought he was doing his evil voodoo again and looking straight into her soul.

"I'm sorry I ruined your life," Jeff whispered.

Her head whipped back to face him.

"You didn't ruin it," she said truthfully.

Changed it, yes. But since the moment she had realised how she felt about him she hadn't felt like he'd ruined it. She didn't want any other man. And she didn't want any other man's babies. Her heart was rebelling at the very thought of being as intimate with another man as she had been with Jeff.

"You had all these plans and now you have to put them on hold."

She chuckled and put her palm on the side of her face.

"My plans were shit, anyway. I'm freaking out a little bit but I actually have better goals now. I would never have thought of going back to school if this hadn't happened. And I wouldn't be thinking of running my own business. So my life isn't ruined. It's getting better."

"You really think so?"

"Yes."

This time she held that voodoo gaze until she was sure he believed her. Jeff smiled and put his hand over hers on his cheek.

"You're going to be an awesome mum," he said.

"And I believe I couldn't have found a better dad for my kids."

He beamed at her like she had really pleased him. She liked it when he smiled.

"I think I'll go now before I say something that will fuck this moment up," he said as he removed her palm from his face and kissed it.

Then he leaned forward and kissed her lips, too. Just a quick, innocent kiss. A kiss between friends.

"Good night, mother of my children,"

She chuckled but answered back, "Good night, father of my children."

He backed out of the room, the smile still on his lips. Only when the door was closed behind him did she drop her smile.

What the hell was she going to do about that man?

* * *

"So can I be an uncle or something?"

She smiled when she heard the hoarsely voiced request. Randy had been watching the two videos of the babies she had sent to his phone for the past half an hour now.

"Of course," she answered.

"And there we have it. Hell has just frozen over," Ted chuckled.

"Next thing we know he'll be trying to have one of his own," Cody added.

She laughed when Randy threw his friends an evil look.

She heard a gasp, then John's awed, "Did you see that?"

"I think it'll be a competition," she said to Ted and Cody.

John didn't even hear that as he leaned to Randy and showed him exactly what had got him excited. Then both of them were engrossed in the video again.

She grinned in amusement when she saw a camera man pointing his camera at the two of them, also with a grin on his face.

"So sensitive," she teased.

"Am not," Randy frowned, determinedly putting his phone back in his pocket. "Don't ever say that again."

But the tops of his cheeks were flushed.

"Well, fuck," she chuckled.

"Shut up," Randy growled.

She chuckled again but decided to leave it at that. After the whirlwind of emotions the past two days it felt good to just chill out like this. Randy had found her soon after she and Jeff had checked into their room - complete with its huge, inviting bed and tiny, lumpy couch. The bed could comfortably fit five people. Maybe another one if all of the occupants weren't huge wrestlers like the ones she was seated with. Vince was definitely fucking with them.

She'd fallen asleep right in the middle of it after their tiring journey and had woken up to Jeff hissing so someone to leave her to rest. Then she'd discovered John and Randy on either side of her, lounging with their hands behind their heads on the pillows and smiling at Jeff as he continued to make threats. When she'd sat up she'd seen the other two trouble makers also lounging at the sides, also grinning at Jeff.

She didn't want to think of what Vince could do with the footage of four men in bed with her, no matter how innocent the situation was. She'd had enough of his editing skills, thank you very much!

"Don't be mad, Jeff. There's plenty of room on the bed for you, too," Randy had said. "Want me to scoot over?"

Jeff had looked at her for a moment and then declared he was going to Matt's room. She hadn't seen him since. He hadn't even called to ask if she needed a ride to the arena so she had ended up hitching a ride with John and Randy.

The house show had already started but she wasn't needed to valet tonight so she was sitting with the guys at the Catering area. She didn't know if Jeff had already had his match but she'd been on alert, waiting for even just a glimpse of him. It was funny, that.

She'd even contemplated faking an emergency so he would rush to her like he always did. Just so she could look into that emerald gaze just for a little while. Only the thought of being rejected again had stopped her.

"You're not eating," Randy said.

She looked down at the food on her plate and scrunched her nose. She didn't want a sandwich or a salad. She didn't want anything that was being offered. What she wanted was a bucket of fried chicken. Just the chicken, nothing else. And mint sauce. She'd been craving it all day.

"I'll get something later," she said.

"I'll tell on you to Jeff. Then you have to sit through the torture of him feeding you," Randy grinned.

"I said I'll eat later," she snapped. "And Jeff would never feed me."

"Wanna bet?" Randy grinned as he beckoned someone over.

She turned around to see Jeff standing by a vending machine with a can of soda and a WWE magazine in his hand. Then he turned away quickly like he didn't want her to know he'd been looking at her.

But he dropped his soda.

Her breath caught when he bent to retrieve it where it had rolled under a nearby table. The buns on that man! He was wearing sweats so they moulded those delicious man-buns to perfection. She had no trouble remembering how firm they were. And how they had clenched and unclenched under her fingers when he had plunged into her.

He stood up and met her eyes and saw them darken. She knew he still wanted her, physically. He'd proved it the other night, when he'd been rock hard and grinding into her out on the porch. A little sound left her lips at the memory. How could she want someone so desperately? And how could he be so... delicious? Her eyes leisurely explored the hard muscles of his exposed arms and the white vest stretched across his huge chest.

She wanted lie on that chest. She wanted those arms around her, guiding her... She wanted to wrap her legs around that waist.

From the corner of her eyes she saw Randy beckon again, and then watched as Jeff hesitated briefly and swallowed. For a moment she thought of his rejection then of his warning in the doctor's waiting room when he had caught her looking at him like this. But then she decided she could look at him if she wanted to. He had no say in it. And it didn't have to go any further than that.

He started the walk across the room. She watched every step, watched the play of his muscles... like a well oiled machine as he came towards her. She licked her lips. He _was _a machine. He could go for hours... He could satisfy them both and still be ready a short time after. The night on the Hall of Fame Ceremony he'd gone all night. All night with that hard, huge dick filling her to the hilt...

Jeff cleared his throat.

"What?" he asked.

He kept his eyes on Randy but she could see what an effort it was. She didn't take her eyes off him.

"Keri won't eat," Randy said.

Then Jeff had to look at her. She met the emeralds briefly before he looked at the food on her plate.

"And she's very, _very _hungry," Randy added.

She was sure there was an emphasis on the words but she kept her eyes glued to the man standing next to her.

Yes. She was hungry. Famished. For Jeff.

She heard another sound come from her as she looked down the length of his body, tilting her head to the side so she could look at that butt, too. When she made the journey back to his face his face was flushed. And he was biting his lip, his eyes still on her food.

"Are you going to feed her, Jeff?" Randy asked.

This time she knew exactly what Randy meant. Apparently, Jeff did, too, because he swallowed and then cleared his throat like maybe it had suddenly gone dry.

"Come on. You know you want to," Randy pushed. "Look at the poor girl. She's starved."

But Jeff didn't look.

"Um... I have to get ready for my match," he said. "If you'd rather have something else, take my card."

She knew he was deliberately misunderstanding Randy's words.

She watched his muscles bunch up as he reached into his pockets. Then she watched the material as it stretched over his groin before he pulled out his wallet. Her eyes remained on the groin. The magazine and soda had somehow been placed at the front, effectively hiding what was going on underneath. But she didn't need to see the bulge to know he was horny.

"Order out. Anything you want," Jeff said, dropping his wallet on the table.

Then he abruptly turned and started making his way out. Before he turned into the hallway he looked back. His eyes were on fire and she was singed even though there was all that space between them.

Then he was gone.

She let out a shaky breath and turned back to her friends, who all happened to be looking at her.

"The poor, poor boy," John said with a shake of his head.

"Now you see why you're going to lose the bet?" Randy grinned.

Her cheeks coloured as she busied her fingers with Jeff's wallet. It still felt warm from his body heat...

She cleared her throat.

"You know what you should do?" Randy said, leaning over so his face was only inches from hers. "Tonight. In that big bed. Ride that boy like your life depends on it."

She gasped at the crude suggestion. But she felt heat on her face again as she thought that didn't sound like a bad idea at all.

* * *

Jeff had stood under the cold spray for a long time but he was still as hard as rock. How the hell was he going to wrestle like this? His match was next, for fuck's sake! Why would Keri do this to him, even after he'd told her to stop? They were supposed to be learning how to ignore all of that so they could concentrate on the kids. Not looking at each other like...

He closed his eyes. He could still feel her eyes on him, burning him, turning him inside out. He could still hear the little mewls that had come from the back of her throat. Like she hadn't even cared that there were other people around them. Like she could have had him right there in front of them. Like he was the only one in the world.

He knew that was wishful thinking. Of course she didn't look at him like he was the only man in the world. She would never love him the way he loved her. She'd said it on national TV and again for his father. And even if she did love him someday, he could never be with her like that again.

He just wished it wasn't so hard to remember that. And he just wished he wasn't so... hard. Everytime he was near her, everytime he thought of her, everytime he caught her scent, everytime he heard her voice, looked into her eyes, touched her hand... The past two weeks had involved entirely too much of all of those and he was ready to explode.

He opened the hot water so it mixed with the cold, and then adjusted it until the spray was as hot as his body could stand after the freezing water. His eyes closed as he let his body remember what her eyes alone had just done to him. Then he leaned his forehead against the tiles with a weary sigh and lowered his hand.

"Fuck!" he whispered.


	35. Chapter 35

The show was coming to an end and Keri's stomach was in knots. How was she going to make it through the night with Jeff only a few feet away from her? Her head understood his reasoning of why they couldn't be together but her body and her heart? They hurt.

"You should tell him how you feel."

She looked up at Randy and scowled.

"Come on. It's no secret," Randy chuckled. "Especially after what you did earlier."

His chuckle reverberated against her cheek. She was cuddled against him on a couch in a lounge that had been set up for the wrestlers. Her aching feet were on a coffee table next to Randy's. He was quite comfortable for someone with such a hard body.

"Don't even say it," she warned.

"I'm only trying to help you," Randy said. "Remember the first time John and I talked to you? I could see how he felt."

She grunted. If Jeff loved her they wouldn't be in this position.

"John and I asked you for a drink and your baby daddy jumped down my throat."

"He's always been protective of me. Now that I'm carrying his kids he's going to be a lot more. It doesn't mean anything. Or rather, it doesn't mean what you think it means. It's just a physical thing. And sooner or later it's going to stop and he's going to move on."

"If the guy only wanted to fuck he wouldn't be doing this." Randy said.

"No, if he wanted more than that then he wouldn't be doing this," she corrected.

"He asked you to marry him."

"He was feeling sorry for me!"

"He's given you a house and basically vowed to be there for you for the rest of his life."

"Because he doesn't want me to fuck up his kids."

"I really wish I could slap you," Randy said. "One huge slap across that pretty little face. Maybe another upside that thick head of yours."

"You'd love that wouldn't you?" she grinned.

"It would be intensely satisfying," Randy grinned back. "Seriously though. For some reason you can't see how he feels but you know how _you _feel. Why aren't you going after him?"

"He's turned me down before."

"So don't give him a chance to do it again. It's a simple as that. You think he only wants one thing and once he's had his fill he's going to move on. Well, ok, suppose that's what happens. When he's with the next woman and you're all alone in your big bed, are you really going to look back at this time and pat your back for keeping your legs closed? Or are you going to wish you'd tied the boy to your bed like I told you to?"

Her chest squeezed painfully at the reminder that she would have to watch Jeff move on.

"And let me point out something else. I've been around the block a few times and I've never come close to feeling anything as powerful as what Jeff feels for you," Randy continued.

"You can't know how he feels," she protested.

"No, I can't. Not really. But I can see it. And when I'm in the same room as both of you and you forget that there are other people around you, I _can _feel it," he said. "You're the centre of his world and can't even see it. Maybe you're scared. Maybe you can't believe that someone would love you so completely. Whatever it is, you need to let it go, Keri. Because love like that? Only a few of us ever get lucky enough to feel it."

She met his eyes.

"What happens when I let myself do this and then get hurt?"

"Then you get up, dust yourself off and move on," Randy said. "Everything worth having comes with risks. You've got to be willing to take them if you want to be happy."

She let out a breath then moved out of her friend's arms.

"I guess I have things to do," she said.

Randy smiled and said, "See you tomorrow."

With Randy's words still whirling in her head she found Jeff's locker room. Her palms were sweaty and her heart beating in her ears as she opened the door.

Jeff was seated on one of the chairs with his elbows resting on his knees. He was looking at the floor and playing with his fingers in a way that told her he was distracted. He was sweaty, some of his face paint had rubbed off and a towel hung around his neck, so she knew he had already had his match.

Before she could say anything his movements stopped and he raised his head to look at her. A shaky breath escaped her when she saw the emerald fire. And she saw something else. Longing? Love? He looked away before she could really see what it was. Maybe Randy's words had her imagining things but she couldn't help hoping it was love she had seen.

Otherwise she was going to make a gigantic ass of herself for nothing.

"I need a shower, and then Vince wants to see me. I won't be ready to go for probably another half an hour," Jeff said as he stood up.

She couldn't help noticing he walked to the furthest end of the room before he turned around to face her. Like maybe he was afraid she would do what she had done to him earlier.

"Take your time. I came to tell you I'm catching a cab back to the hotel," she smiled.

"Is everything okay?" he asked with a frown.

"I'm just tired," she lied.

"Is Randy coming with you?"

She noticed he didn't look her in the eyes when he asked this. And his hands seemed to have balled into fists at his sides. Jealous?

Her heart beat a little bit faster at what this revelation could mean.

"No. Just me," she answered.

"I can tell Vince I'll see him tomorrow and come with you," Jeff offered.

"Tell your billionaire boss to wait? I don't think so," she chuckled. "There's no need. I'll see you later."

She smiled at him. A smile formed on his lips, too, and with it the unguarded look in his eyes. Maybe he was in love with her or maybe he wasn't. But Randy was right about one thing. She didn't want to kick herself later for ignoring what their bodies obviously wanted.

Her smile grew as she left the room.

* * *

Jeff shifted his position on the couch and scowled as he looked at the spring that had been poking him. Really? He'd thought Vince couldn't do any worse than the last couch he'd been forced to sleep on but clearly he'd been wrong. This one should have been thrown out years ago.

Or maybe it had, and Vince had picked it out from a dumpster. The smell coming from it certainly suggested that.

Wrinkling his nose in disgust, he picked up the only spare blanket he had found. It had also seen better days, and it was filthy. He'd called downstairs for some bedding, but they'd told him they were fresh out. Fresh out of _bedding. _Obviously Vince had flashed his money at them.

He studied the floor he was going to sleep on with an irritated frown. It was marble and cold as fuck. There were no rugs or carpet anywhere which meant he was going to have to go and steal spare blankets from Matt and Shane, and he'd still have to wear extra clothes so he wouldn't freeze to death.

He was about to walk to the door when Keri walked out of the bathroom. She was dressed in a filmy, flimsy black thing that was obviously her nighty. He could see everything.

Everything.

He cleared his throat and turned around, but the image was already burnt into his head.

"I need blankets," he said.

"Why? We have enough on the bed," Keri said.

"We don't have any spare for me," he said.

"You're sleeping on _that _disgusting couch? Why? You could sleep on one side of this bed, toss and turn all you want and I wouldn't even feel it from the other side."

Neither of them had brought up the embarrassing moment in Catering, for which he was grateful. But after that episode, how could she think being in the same bed was a good idea?

"I... I don't think that will work," he said.

"Don't be so immature," Keri said. "Hop in. It's been a long day."

He heard rustling that alerted him that she was on the bed and turned slowly to confirm it. She had the covers all the way up to her chin as she sat against the headboard. A little breath of relief left his lips.

"You really think that you won't wake up in my arms tomorrow morning?"

"I'm too exhausted for any of that. You wouldn't take advantage of a near enough comatose woman."

She grinned when she said that, but he got the feeling he was somehow being... hunted.

"I'm being serious here. You know how it is between us. And you know why it can't happen again."

"Jeff, there are cameras everywhere. None of that is happening, trust me," Keri said. "You can put pillows in the middle to separate us if you want, but I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight."

He frowned as he watched her lie down properly and turn so her back was to his side. He was still standing there when her breathing became even.

So maybe she wasn't going to try anything. Maybe she would sleep through the night and he'd have to wake her up in the morning like he usually did. Beside; sleeping on the floor or couch in the same room as her was just the same as him sleeping right next to her. She wasn't safe either way so it wouldn't make a difference. Not much, anyway. Right?

And he was really tired, too. Even if he tossed and turned at first he was probably going to pass out from exhaustion pretty soon.

He eyed the couch and the marble floor again before he pulled his hoodie and shoes off. He didn't dare take his sweats and t-shirt off.

Then he quietly walked to the other side of the huge bed and slipped in.

Silk sheets? Vince really had high hopes for tonight. Too bad he was going to be disappointed.

* * *

Jeff moaned when Keri's lips kissed him along his jaw again. They were soft and tender. A shiver went through his body and he sighed in satisfaction. These dreams had kept him going lately. He'd played out more satisfying fantasies the past few weeks than all the years he'd had a thing for Keri combined.

The lips found his and he immediately gave in to them. He welcomed the fire, the intensity. He welcomed the weight of her body on his, pressing down on his erection. And if all the other dreams were anything to go by, he'd be buried deep inside her very, very soon.

He buried his fingers in her silky hair and used it to tilt her head for better access. Then he ate her up. He kissed her with all the pent up desire in his body, kissed her like he would have if he could. His hands left her hair to slide down her back and then mould her ass.

"Keri..." he groaned against her lips.

He felt her hands under his t-shirt, touching him everywhere like she was as hungry for him as he was for her. Then they were under the elastic waist of his sweats. He hissed when they made contact, and bucked against her hands.

"Please..." he begged.

"Take them off," Keri whispered.

He lifted his hips from the bed and freed himself before something penetrated his foggy, horny head. Something wasn't right here.

But her fingers were on him again, guiding him. And then she ate him up. He was buried completely in her heat when it hit him.

This wet dream... was real.

His eyes opened and he froze. His eyes were level with the growing bump that was protecting his babies. Keri was butt naked! And sitting on his dick!

"Keri... what the fuck are you doing?"

He pulled himself out and gently pushed her aside before he shot out of the bed.

He tried to calm his body down but it was hopeless. In the soft light of the bedside lamp Keri was the personification of temptation.

She was kneeling on the bed with her wild mane falling past her breasts, offering only glimpses of her hardened nipples. One hand was gently rubbing her growing stomach and her huge eyes were trained on him as if he had just committed the worst crime in history.

"Put some clothes on," he ordered tightly.

Keri's head fell to the side as if she was considering it. There were cameras everywhere, the hell did she have to think about it for?

"No," she said.

"Are you fucking insane?"

"Right now, I'd have to go with, 'Yes.' Because you practically flung me across the room in your haste to get away from me yet, oddly, I'm not the least bit deterred."

He swallowed. Was she saying what he thought she was saying?

"Now isn't the time, Keri. I'm thinking of you, here. You don't want everybody seeing you like this."

"Relax. I've taken care of the cameras," she grinned. "That's why I left the arena early."

"You planned this?"

"Of course," she answered easily.

"We decided_"

"Well, I changed my mind," she cut in.

Couldn't she see that he was only trying to protect her? Why was she doing this?

His eyes zoomed in on her hand when it stopped caressing her stomach to slowly make its way to her chest. He should have been running. Keri was naked, there was no way she would follow him out of the room.

But his feet wouldn't move. And his eyes couldn't look away from what she was now doing with her fingers.

"In case you haven't figured it out, I've decided it will be a lot of fun to be the one doing the chasing. I'm coming after you, Jeffrey Nero Hardy, like you did me when all of this started. "

"Insane," he repeated, but his heart hammered at the words.

She grinned at him and lay back on the bed. Then she patted the space next to her in invitation.

"That's unfair," he said.

His voice came out low and hoarse. And a little breathy. He watched Keri's lips curl up in satisfaction when she heard it.

"If you don't come over here I'm going to have to come there," she said. "Stop fighting it."

"You know why I'm fighting it!"

"I forgot. Enlighten me," Keri said, crossing her feet at her ankles and putting her hands behind her head so he got a full frontal view.

His throat went dry.

"I don't want either of us to get hurt. Once you have the babies and your hormones start behaving, you'll thank me for this," he said.

"I doubt it," Keri said.

"I've brought you nothing but misery."

"Oh, I don't know. We've had some pretty good times as well."

"That's not the point," he said in frustration.

"Then what is?"

"I don't want to be like Drew." he said. "You never wanted any of this, and I forced it on you anyway. Your whole life has changed because of me. I know you said it's changed for the better and you don't regret it but I don't want you to resent me for this down the line. I've taken so much from you; I'm not going to take your future as well."

She had a frown on her face when he finished and he hoped she understood what he was saying, even if it was only part of the truth.

"I thought we had this talk already," Keri said. "Don't bring that man's name up again. And don't compare anything we do to what happened with him."

"I didn't want to bring it up but you forced me," he snapped, finally finding the strength to turn away.

But he heard rustling behind him and tensed.

"Well, I'm glad we got that out in the open so we can finally move past it," she said.

Her voice was close. Too close.

"Now let's stop the chit-chat and get to the fucking."

He turned around to find her right in front of him. And the look in those hazel eyes was determined. A determined Keri was very, very hard to put off.

Her hands came to his sweats where she hooked her thumbs to the sides and slowly lowered them and his boxers.

"Keri..."

"Shhh. You talk too much," she said.

When his sweats and boxers were pooled at his feet, she gripped him.

"Think about this," he said.

Or he tried to say it. He was pretty sure all that came out of his mouth was a rather loud moan.

He watched as she weighed him and let her fingers trail up the underside until they were cupping his balls. He bit back his groans as he tried to remember all the reasons he was bad for her. But every experimental squeeze reminded him of how much he loved this woman, how much he'd missed this, how much he'd missed her.

And it put him slowly but completely under her spell. He was powerless.

"You know how you... you know... went down on me?" she asked.

His eyes slowly rose up to meet hers. His chest was tight from all the effort it was taking to hold himself back and breathing was an unimaginable pain.

"Yes?" he answered.

"Can I do that to you?"

A strangled breath came out of him.

He'd have to be one dead bastard to fight this any longer.

"You can do whatever you want to me," he whispered.

He watched a smiled appear on her lips before she let go of his dick. He felt the loss of her touch like a physical pain as he watched her turn away from him, but anticipation swallowed up his protest. With heavy eyelids he watched her crawl up the huge bed on all fours, baring her naked ass to his hungry eyes. Then she knelt and smiled at him.

"Take your t-shirt off and come here, then," she said.

He helplessly did as he was told.

* * *

He remembered thinking, when all this madness had started, that he would teach her how to suck his dick when the time was right.

Nothing had prepared him for this.

He'd embarrassed himself by cuming the moment her lips had closed on his head the first time. The second time he'd shown a bit more control and waited until she had slid her hot little mouth at least halfway down.

"I must be really, really good," she teased.

He could do nothing but gaze at her naughty grin as he caught his breath. But she didn't allow him much time to recover. Her lips were on his neck, on his face, all over his body. And her hands... God, her hands. He could tell she was experimenting, trying to gauge what he liked and what he didn't, but he loved everything she did. She worked him better than any experienced woman he'd ever been with.

Then she was on top of him again. This time protesting was the last thing on his mind. She positioned him and then slowly lowered herself.

"Yes! Fuck, yes!" he moaned.

The heat, the tightness, the wetness... It drove him crazy instantly. He gripped her hips and thrust as far as he could go, earning a very loud mewl from Keri. The doctor had promised him after the first scan that there was no way his dick would ever hurt the baby. Now that there were two of them, he really hoped the same rule applied because he couldn't stop himself. He'd been starved, and every thrust brought him closer to heaven.

As she rode him, she threw her head back so her perky breasts bounced proudly. They were begging for his attention, begging to be sucked and licked and kissed. But he was racing to the top, he couldn't think of anything beyond that. The noises coming from Keri suggested he wasn't alone in that.

As her mewls got louder he got harder. More desperate. Frantic. But it still wasn't enough. He wanted more. His hips lifted of the bed as he pounded into her, and he moved one hand so his thumb was on her slick, swollen clit. The gentlest touch made her scream his name out. It also made him grunt in appreciation of the tighter grip her muscles had on him.

He'd missed that. Fuck, how he'd missed that.

She was whimpering within a minute. And seconds after that he felt her tremors in her muscles as their grip became a vice.

He came hard with his hands gripping her hips tightly and holding her down on him. He didn't let her go until her tremors subsided; until she'd milked him completely.

Then she slid off him and lay on her back beside him with a smile on her face. He watched the smile as they both tried to catch their breaths. She looked satisfied, and really proud of herself.

She fell asleep without opening her eyes again but the smile never left her face. Part of him felt exactly the same way. He'd made love to the woman he was in love with. He'd connected with her again.

But the other part of him reminded him what a dick he was.

That had to be the stupidest thing he had ever done and he had to rectify it as soon as possible. With a last look at the woman sleeping beside him he slid off the bed.

**Thank you for reading and for your reviews. I appreciate you guys taking the time out to do that. I'm trying to get this done so I can concentrate on the next big part of Amazing Grace. I think we're about to wrap this one up. **

**Thanks again for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.****  
**


	36. Chapter 36

**You can punish me whichever way you want. But thank you for still being here. This update is long and rambly. Blame it on writer's block. You've been warned.**

**For ****msgemgem. Sorry it took longer than I promised.**

"She needs to rest, Vince. This storyline needs to end. Now!"

"Oh, I don't know about that. She seems like she's enjoying herself a bit too much for me to stop her now."

Jeff watched the shit-eating grin on the man's face as he worked on the paperwork in front of him. Either he didn't know Keri had somehow disabled the cameras or he was in on it.

His gaze narrowed. The last time he had damaged a camera he had been punished. How he had been punished! Keri's words from that video Vince had aired still haunted him. But now the man was grinning? He could even go as far as to say he was very happy.

"You know," he stated.

"Of course I know," Vince grinned. "And for the record, I would never have invaded your privacy. Anytime you want some... ah... quality time with the little woman, all you have to do is tell the guys to stop recording. If you'd bothered to read the contract you'd know that."

She'd _asked_? The _fuck_?!

"Look, all of that doesn't matter now. She needs to rest and concentrate on making sure the babies are healthy. We've talked about it and agreed it would be for the best."

Vince just grinned again. Maybe the man could smell his desperation.

After he had snuck out of the room in the early hours of the morning he had ended up crashing on Matt and Shane's couch – which was long, comfortable and _new _with plenty of spare blankets. He'd called Keri once to check on her and make up an excuse about his absence but he was quite sure she knew the real reason he had run away. Or at least, she knew part of the reason.

He didn't need her to crush his heart to dust just so she could scratch an itch.

"Okay, so when exactly do you intend to finish this storyline?" he growled.

"Oh, I don't know. It could be weeks. Months."

"She's pregnant!"

"I'm very aware of that, Jeffrey."

He said it with a grin.

"Stop fucking with me."

"But it's so much fun! Now, excuse me. I have a lot of work to do."

He scowled but stood up.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. We'll be doing a series of candid interviews this week, right until Backlash this Sunday. Individual ones and of you together."

"Candid?"

"I'm not going to take the fun out of it by letting you prepare for the questions, am I?"

He could only imagine the sort of questions Vince would come up with. And if they asked Keri how she really felt about him and she told the truth, he'd look like a complete dick for falling in love with her.

He heard the man laughing as the door closed, and muttered swear words under his breath as he looked up and down the busy hallway, ignoring the camera crew that stood next to him. He didn't know whether to be embarrassed or angry that they knew what he and Keri had done. It was nobody's damn business.

He had come to the arena early, hoping Vince would be reasonable and send Keri home as soon as possible. Obviously, that was too much to ask.

He'd skipped breakfast because the moment he'd woken up Matt had kicked him out and told him to go and take care of Keri. He'd wanted to. He'd wanted to take care of her all day. His body was still on fire from their entirely too brief night so it was tempting to go back to the hotel.

But this was something he couldn't let her win. He wasn't sure he could survive her breaking his heart so many times. If he made her stop now, there was a chance - a slight chance - that in time he would look back and remember everything fondly, rather than with all the pain he was feeling now. Hell, give him a few years he was sure he would even be able to pretend convincingly that he was happy for her if she found a husband.

Not if. When.

Somebody was bound to step up and be the man she needed. Somebody who wasn't a dick to her. Somebody who hadn't raped her.

On that thought, he ran a hand through his hair and started walking to his locker room. Guilt was a bitch. Sexual frustration was a bitch. Love was a bitch. And Vince... he was the biggest bitch of all.

* * *

"You seem awfully chipper today."

She stopped her musing to look at John as he did his weights.

"That's 'cause she got some," Randy answered.

"Shut your mouth!" she said. "Dude, the hell's wrong with you?"

But she found she couldn't stop smiling, even with Randy's lack of boundaries. She was happily seated on a weight bench opposite the two of them even though she'd got up at an ungodly hour. The second Jeff had eased out of bed, actually. She had known he would run away, and it kind of stung a little but even that couldn't stop the smile.

How could it, when she'd learned she could have him whenever she wanted?

However long his desire for her lasted, she intended to make the most of it.

"Do guys like whipped cream?"

"Ah... Why?" Randy didn't stop his repetitions with the weights.

"You know that thing in the movies, when the man sprays whipped cream on the woman's body... then licks it off..?" She saw the image clearly and it made her breathless. "Really slow, like. I mean, his tongue gets everywhere... tastes everything... It looks dirty and sticky. But hot. So hot. "

She spent a few more seconds with the images. Jeff was going to have to do that to her. Another time, though. Right now she was more interested in what she could do for him. And to do that she needed to learn as much as she could about pleasing men without resorting to watching porn. Although that didn't sound so bad...

A smile still on her lips, she looked at Randy and then John.

"What?" She frowned.

They'd stopped working out and were looking at her oddly. John cleared his throat.

"Ok. I think we're done here," Randy chuckled.

"Are you kidding? We only just got here," she said as she watched them pack up their shit.

"I need a cold shower. You coming or not?"

"You've hardly worked up a sweat," she pointed out as she stood up and started following. "And you didn't answer my question."

"Oh, I think men like whipped cream _a lot_," John laughed.

"Ok. Thanks. I was thinking strawberries, too, but what the hell do I do with them? Do I turn him into a giant fruit salad and eat them from his body? Do I feed them to him? Throw them at him?"

Both men turned back to look at her, again with the odd, amused looks on their faces. Then they looked at each other and grinned.

"What?"

They got to the elevators and John pressed the button. Then they both turned to look at her. Study her, more like. She frowned and crossed her arms.

"I'm not going to ask again. The fuck are you looking at?"

They laughed and turned away just as the elevator doors opened.

"I don't know why we never saw it before," Randy said, ignoring her as they walked in.

"It's like a big sign in bright lights right above her head," John agreed.

Then they studied her again.

"All that innocence just makes her hotter, though. Imagine how much fun Jeff's going to have teaching her," Randy grinned.

She immediately understood what was amusing them.

"You think it's funny?"

"No, I think it's cute," Randy smirked, pulling her to his side and putting his arm around her shoulder. "You saved yourself for Jeff."

"I didn't save myself for Jeff," she protested. "I saved myself for love."

Randy's grin got wider and she knew she shouldn't have said that. She looked at their constant companion, the cameraman and grimaced.

"Can you edit that bit out?"

"You can't take it back," Randy chuckled. "You love him."

"You really looooove him. You wanna fuuuuuck him," John sang.

"You two are so juvenile."

"You think he's seeeeeexy. You wanna riiiiide him," Randy chimed in.

"You wanna liiiiick him, and let him diiiiiick you," John continued.

"Classy." She shook her head as the doors opened on Randy and John's floor. "I'm sure your fans will be so proud of you."

"They really looooove us, they want our baaaaabies," Randy sang.

She rolled her eyes and walked out of the elevator. Jeff would see this; of this she had no doubt. Vince was going to have a party with that one slip of her tongue, maybe even air it like he had done with the other thing just to humiliate her. Then Jeff, and the rest of the world, would know how she felt and feel sorry for her. She'd be fucked.

But she'd worry about that when it happened. Right now she needed to go and buy some whipped cream.

* * *

Jeff nodded his head at something one of the Production crew said. He hadn't heard a word. He'd already gone over his match, and his years of experience meant he would be able to read all the signs and not miss his spots. But he'd been cornered in Catering for some last minute changes that he wasn't really in the right head space for.

Keri was looking for him.

And if her text message was anything to go by, she was coming for some dick.  
Whipped cream? How the hell was he supposed to work with that much pressure? It was a house show, but he prided himself in doing the best he could, giving all he could for every match, televised or otherwise. He couldn't let Keri distract him like this.

"Take these and go over them with Matt. He's coming to disrupt your match at the end, not the beginning like we'd planned."

He took the papers, frowning a little at how many there were. A _few_changes? More like they'd reworked the whole match.

His eyes scanned the room again. The show had an hour or so till it started but most of his co-workers were here already. Keri was probably on her way, too. He needed to find a room to hang out in before she did.

"You're on last. You've got just over three hours."

"Three hours?"

He spun around at the sound of Keri's voice. The fuck had she come from? Cena stood next to her, grinning at him like an idiot.

"That's plenty of time," she continued.

Then she grinned, her hazel eyes twinkling at him, threatening his composure.

She was wearing a little dress again. A blue one that showed her fuller figure to perfection. Her message had mentioned something about a lack of underwear along with a detailed description of what she wanted to do to him.

He swallowed.

"H-hey, Keri. I can't talk right now, I have to go over this," he said, thanking his lucky stars for whoever had given him such a solid excuse.

"That's alright. I have to get ready, too, anyway," she smiled.

He hoped she'd brought her underwear if she was coming to the ring with him!

"Um... Great. I'll catch you later then."

He made to go but her hand on his arm stopped him. The grin was still on her face. Clearly she was thoroughly enjoying playing this cat and mouse game.

His heart stopped when she stepped forward, standing so close that she was brushing against him. The heat of her body was an instant reminder of last night as she went on her toes and leaned forward.

"Have you thought about that message I sent?" she whispered against his ear.

He shivered.

"Um..."

"You're thinking about it right now, aren't you?"

That and a lot of other things. Like what he'd do to her after she'd licked him all over and blown him.

"Tell me. Tell me every single, dirty thought," she whispered.

He swallowed. John was still standing there, still grinning. He had a feeling he knew what was going on.

"Keri..."

"Shhh," she said.

Her breath was warm against his neck, shooting heat straight down to his groin. He closed his eyes, fighting it, fighting her.

"Tell me," she repeated, this time plastering her body against his and earning an involuntary hiss from his lips.

Fuck. She was messing him up on purpose. Payback for how he had pursued her in the beginning.

"I... I want to dick you. Real bad," he admitted in a husky whisper.

Resisting temptation was impossible. He'd dick her right now in front of everyone if she wanted.

"I love it when you talk dirty," she smiled as she moved away from him. "Catch you later dude."

Then she turned and walked away. Just like that.

It took him a moment to remember he was standing in the middle of Catering. And for some reason John was still standing there, too.

"You poor bastard," Cena laughed.

Nothing about this situation was funny.

With a frown he walked away, too, making sure he went in the opposite direction and away from Cena's bellowing laugh. Maybe he deserved to be sexually frustrated for the rest of his life.

* * *

"If you keep twitching and fidgeting like that I'm going to have to get you some professional help."

Jeff stopped tapping his feet and folded his arms across his chest.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"And you've been sitting there for the better part of an hour but still haven't said anything," Adam continued without looking up at his phone. "Those dudes standing in the corner are starting to creep me out."

"Sorry," he repeated, crossing his legs to stop himself unconsciously tapping again.

Adam met his gaze across the locker room, and then grunted as he looked back at his phone. He probably knew what a load of shit that was. He hadn't come here for the conversation, evidenced by just how far away from Adam he was sitting in the first place. Adam had settled on a sofa along the wall at top of the room while he had chosen to sit on the bench close to the door.

"So how's Keri?"

"Don't. You don't get to talk about her."

Adam put his phone down beside him and folded his arms, too.

"Okay, cut the crap. You've only come here because it's the one place you know she won't look."

"That still doesn't mean you get to ask me about her."

"I thought we were past that shit," Adam said. "I was hanging out with Matt and Shane all morning. Last night Reject sent me a text chronicling an unfortunate incident at his shop involving that chick I was crazy about when she was first introduced to us. Keri sent me a video of your babies. Everyone's cool now. What the hell's wrong with you?"

What? Was it possible he'd been too wrapped up in Keri to see what was happening? He could have put a stop to this nonsense.

"Delete the videos. You don't get to pretend everything you did was okay. You don't get to waltz back into Keri's life."

Adam sat back in the sofa.

"Keri, huh? That's what this is all about? Lita and I broke Matt's heart but you hate me because I hurt Keri?"

"And that's never going to change. I don't care what Matt or anybody else says," he said.

He was well aware he'd cheated, too. And eventually he hoped Maria would be his friend again. But this wasn't about him or double standards.

"Okay. Glad we've cleared that up," Adam said as he picked his phone up again. "And for the record, you're being a giant dick. If you insist on playing with Keri like this I suggest you find somewhere else to hide."

"You don't get to talk about Keri! You don't know shit about what's going on so don't sit there and judge me."

Adam had the nerve to chuckle.

"You know why Vince makes so much money? He's always got his fingers in the next big thing. This social media thing seems to be working for him. Heard of Twitter?"

He frowned. What the fuck was he getting at?

"For the past couple of weeks since the first video aired at Wrestlemania, the WWE website has posted a number of video trailers about your show."

What?!

"Judging by that stupefied look on your face, I seem to know more than you do. Jeff and Keri has been tending a lot lately. Not that I'm into that sort of thing. I can't get my head around telling people I'm taking a crap or eating breakfast in one hundred and forty characters or less. But Vince and his people have the hang of it. I've watched all the trailers. Read some of what the WWE Universe and employees are saying. It's enlightening. You should take a look sometime."

Fuck.

"So yes, I do know what's happening. And thanks to Twitter I know you're hiding and why you're hiding even though I haven't left my locker room all afternoon."

"I'm leaving," he snapped, getting to his feet.

"Are you sure? According to Cena a big party has been planned, and they only need to find the guest of honour. Hashtag where's Jeff. Hashtag pregnant virgin. Hashtag true story. Hashtag clueless. That's a lot of hash tags."

The fuck was wrong with these people? This wasn't a game.

He didn't bother answering Adam as he stormed out of the room.

* * *

Keri saw Jeff coming out of Adam's locker room and smirked. She'd been waiting for him for a while, looking like an idiot loitering in the hallway. But one of the good things about this reality show was someone always knew where they were. The cameramen had had no qualms telling her exactly where she could find her elusive lover.

She wiped the smirk from her face and tried her best distressed look as she leaned against the door behind her. Jeff wouldn't be able to resist playing hero. It was his thing.

"Keri?"

On cue, Jeff rushed to her. She tried not to shiver when his hand cupped her chin to lift her head up. Since she'd made up her mind to have him whenever she could, as much as she could, her body seemed more out of control than when the whole thing had started.

"Are you alright?"

She shook her head.

"What is it? Who's hurt you?" he frowned.

Worry filled his pretty emeralds. She felt a pang of guilt for using him like this - he always came when she needed him, no matter what - but she squashed it before it could ruin her plans. All was fair in love and war.

"I need your help. Come with me. Please."

"Sure," Jeff agreed instantly. "Where?"

She took his hand and opened the door she'd been leaning on. It was an empty locker room; hopefully nobody would walk in on them. There were no cameras in here, and she'd already disabled her microphone. Jeff closed the door behind him and came forward, putting his arm across her shoulders with concern.

"Has somebody hurt you?" he asked.

"Just hold me," she whispered.

She didn't give him a chance to turn her down as she turned her body into the heat of his.

"Um..."

Any second now he'd realise she'd played him. Her arms went around him, knowing he'd escape otherwise. Then she went on her toes and placed her lips on the quickening pulse at the base of his neck.

"You know we can't do this anymore," Jeff groaned, dropping his arm to his side.

But he didn't push her away like he would have done if he really didn't want her.

"Yes we can." She smiled against his neck when she felt him tremble.

"Keri... Fuck."

"Yes, Jeff. Fuck. Now."

She used one hand to turn his microphone off while the other tangled in his hair and pulled his head down.

"Right now," she added.

The whipped cream and all the other stuff Randy had helped her buy would be for later, when she could take her time. Right now she just needed to feel all of him inside her.

She crashed her lips against his, taking him prisoner, moaning at the instant heat that coursed through her body. But she could still feel his resistance. His arms were still at his sides, though his hands were clenched like he was trying to stop himself.

"Don't fight it. Touch me, baby," she pleaded.

She placed her hands under the hem of his t-shirt and moaned again at the feel of his naked flesh under her fingers. Fire. So much fire. All consuming fire. It was impossible not to get burnt.

"Please," she whispered.

A guttural sound left his lips and then she felt his fingers slowly trailing down her sides, stealing her breath with their magic, sensitising her whole body with barely a touch.

Without another word he found the hem of her short dress and pulled it up, over her head. He threw it behind him without a thought to where it landed then started a deliberate inspection of her body. In the beginning it had scared her that Jeff could look at her like this - so intense and focused with so much need and longing - but now she revelled in it. Heat pooled between her legs, her limbs weakened and she started trembling in anticipation. She knew her face was flushed and she couldn't get her breathing under control. But she wasn't afraid to let him see how much he affected her. How much she wanted him.

"I lied about not wearing panties," she whispered.

His hand was shaky as he finally brought it up to her body. Then he trailed down over a lace-covered tit, over the bump until his fingers settled between her legs. She knew that the lacy panties would be no barrier; she was practically dripping for him. Coming apart on the spot.

Jeff moved his fingers a little, rubbing her swollen clit. She closed her eyes and bit her lip. The last thing she wanted to do was invite unwanted attention by screaming out his name, but it was incredibly hard to control herself. Especially when his other arm went around her to steady her while his fingers pushed her lacy barrier aside and slipped inside her. She opened her eyes to silently plead with him but found his smouldering gaze on her, studying her reactions. Breathless gasps left her lips with every thrust of his fingers, and they seemed to please him. And the harder he thrust the more noise she made. Her control was quickly flying out the window.

"Make love to me, Jeffy," she pleaded breathlessly. "I need you."

He removed his fingers but she had no time to mourn their loss. He made short work of her bra and panties before meeting her lips again. He devoured them, took control as he moved her backwards. And when her back was to the wall he lifted her up and put her legs around his waist. Then he pulled his lips from hers, leaving a little space between him and the bump. His chest was heaving when he met her eyes again, and his eyes were pleading with her. But she wasn't about to stop now, not when she was already so close.

She ground herself against the bulge in his Jeans and smiled when a low, almost wounded groan of surrender left his lips. His hands grabbed her butt cheeks and firmly held her in place.

"Now," she ordered, meeting his gaze.

Jeff obliged. She heard the buckle of his belt and his zipper and before she knew it, she felt the hard length of him sliding into her slick heat. Every single inch. And she greedily took all of him, losing her head when she felt every ridge of the hot, hard muscle. But he wasn't doing it hard enough - she suspected the baby bump made him a little cautious.

"Harder. Faster," she pleaded.

She tightened her muscles around him because all the other times they'd made love he'd enjoyed that a lot. And it wasn't any different now. Her name tore out of his lips as he started to move faster, go deeper. To pound into her so relentlessly she felt like she was drowning her senses. Ever thrust sent her higher and with one last stroke he sent both of them over the beautiful edge. Her heart stopped in complete euphoria as Jeff effortlessly took her dead weight. She couldn't have moved from his arms even if there was a fire in the room; none of her limbs were working properly.

"Am I dead?" she asked breathlessly.

Jeff chuckled and brought his lips down to hers briefly. Then he pulled out of her and carefully set her down.

She sat down on the nearest chair to catch her breath. And to watch Jeff run away. She just knew he would. Maybe after a few more ambushes he'd be a willing partner in this, but for now she could wait.

"Um... I need to go," Jeff said as he re-did his zip and belt, and straightened his clothes.

She was butt naked but the man hadn't taken as much as a sock off.

"Sure," she smiled.

He didn't even look her in the eye as he turned away and walked to the door.

* * *

Jeff let himself out quickly, leaned against the door and closed his eyes.

Fuck.

He was still breathing heavily, and his body was still feeling the effects of her extraordinary loving. Hell, her juices were still hot on his dick, and he could almost imagine he was still buried in tight heat.

This had to stop. He couldn't take any more.

Maybe tonight, when they got back to the hotel, he'd sit her down and explain why she couldn't do this to him anymore. She was a reasonable person; she'd consider what he had to say. Wouldn't she?

It didn't matter. After he made his feelings clear he wasn't going to let himself get caught off guard again.

On that thought he opened his eyes and pushed himself off the door. And almost walked straight into the camera.

And judging by the grin on the cameraman's face, he'd been there for a while. Him, the sound guy and all the other people standing in groups or walking along this hallway. Looking at him. Grinning.

Some fucking comedian even had the balls to applaud.

Fuck.

* * *

Keri rubbed her sweaty palms on the long, black, figure hugging skirt she'd changed into and let out a calming breath as she stood by the Gorilla. An expensive and drool-worthy sleeveless maternity top finished the picture, something Vince's people had pulled out for her from somewhere.

"I won't hurt you."

"I know." She smiled up at Matt and tried to keep her food down.

She still wasn't used to going out to ringside but this time Vince had planned something for her. At least she'd been kept in the loop this time. And she was planning to use it to her advantage.

"Sell it. Make me look good," Matt smirked.

"I'm shitting myself already. I won't need to work very hard to make everyone else believe that."

"You'll be fine. You're a natural drama queen," Matt grinned.

"Ha ha."

She took another deep breath as Adam came to join them.

"How about Adam and Addy? Or Addison if one of them is a girl."

"I told you already. No way in hell am I naming two innocent kids after you," she grinned as she accepted a kiss.

"I'm wounded," the Rated R Superstar said. "I'll pay you."

"I wouldn't name my kids after you for all the money in the world."

At the sound of Jeff's voice they all turned to watch him approach. Her knees weakened. Her breath hitched. And she felt like she'd turned into a puddle right at his feet, even though less than an hour ago she'd been satisfied.

He had his paint and wrestling gear on, and it was clear he was angry about something. The aura around him was broody and sullen but something in her found it very sexually appealing. Maybe it was the fact that since last night she'd been a horny mess. Or quite possibly she'd turned into a nymphomaniac. It couldn't be healthy, wanting sex all the time like this.

He came to stand between her and Adam, looking at the other man briefly before looking straight ahead at the curtain. Whatever was bugging him obviously had to do with Adam.

"Addison is a nice name_" She pushed his buttons, hiding a smile at the immediate reaction.

"No."

"I'm just saying there's no harm in considering_"

"No. And I'll tell you something else we won't consider," Jeff snarled, looking at her for the first time. "Sending this man videos of our precious, unborn children."

"You know, if I didn't know all about the little sexual mess you've got yourself into, I'd be taking this very personally," Adam quipped.

She giggled. Jeff eyed her sharply and she stifled her giggle with a cough.

"Adam, are you ready?" one of the crew asked.

"Yes. Please get me away from here."

Adam's music started, and he winked in her direction before going through the curtain. Then it was their turn.

"You look a little pale. Are you sure you want to come out?" Jeff asked.

He was looking at her with the concern that had become so natural in his eyes. Part of her wondered if she needed to leave him be; to carry on with his life like he wanted. But the selfish part of her wanted him to look at her like this for the rest of her life.

She drowned in the emeralds, wallowing in the connection she had with this man. In the love she felt for him.

"She's fine," Matt answered for her, bending down to kiss her cheek. "See you in a few minutes."

Jeff burst through the curtain first.

"You'll do great," Matt whispered, and then she followed Jeff at a more leisurely pace.

She was mesmerised by his dance on the stage and found herself anticipating the end of the match when she planned on making love with him again. Finally he turned and caught her gaze and her breath hitched again. He held his hand out, and for that moment it was just the two of them. No loud music. No WWE Universe. No cameras.

She could almost pretend they were two people deeply in love.

She slowly placed her hand in his, loving the way his large one engulfed hers, and then met the green gaze again.

Honestly, how could someone look at someone else like that and not expect them to fall in love? When everybody watched the footage back and wondered why she fell in love with him in the first place, surely they'd see his eyes and realise what an impossible situation she'd been put in. She'd been bedazzled by the bedroom eyes and the large dick, and then conquered by the certain look in his eyes that made her feel like the only woman the world. She hadn't stood a chance.

Jeff finally looked away and led her down the long aisle, past his adoring fans to a chair next to the Announce table. The crowds were a little more fired up than the past few shows, the energy was just amazing. Maybe there was something to this, like the wrestlers said.

The match started. She'd been told Jeff had been feuding with Adam before Matt had dropped the bombshell, or rather, the chair shot that had been heard across the WWE Universe. Jeff didn't like Adam at all so she could only imagine how that had gone down. Even now she could feel the genuine animosity radiating from him.

They'd been fighting for about ten minutes when Matt made his appearance at the top of the stage. Jeff was distracted for a second, and it almost cost him the match but he kicked out quickly. As he'd been instructed to, he kept frowning at Matt, then at her, obviously worrying about her safety. But when it became clear that Matt was just messing with him, he relaxed and continued his match. Matt was supposed to stand there and watch until Jeff won, gaining momentum for their match at Backlash. At least, that was all Jeff had been informed of.

So he wasn't paying attention when Matt rushed down to the ring and came towards her. She got to her feet, fear on her face as she slowly started backing away. Matt had a snarl on his face which quickly turned to a smile when she backed herself into a corner behind the commentators.

It moved quickly from there. The scream she let out that caught Jeff's attention. The murderous look on his face as he realised Matt had been asked to do something unscripted. The spear that caught him before he could leave the ring. The pin that followed.

Matt grabbed get wrist then half pulled half dragged her up the aisle with her calling for Jeff the whole time. Adam's music was playing as they burst through the curtains.

"Let me go!"

"You and my useless brother need to learn a lesson," Matt snarled.

He didn't let go of her wrist as he pulled her down a hallway backstage. She wanted to think she looked suitably petrified.

"Mattie, think of my babies_"

"Don't call me that. You're just as bad as Jeff. You think the whole world owes you something; that you can just screw up and not have to suffer the consequences."

"I haven't done anything wrong."

Matt stopped and turned back to her, almost colliding into her.

"You've done the worst thing possible. You chose Jeff."

His hand came up to her face and he brushed some loose strands of hair out of her face.

"But don't worry. That can be taken care of."

"No..." she whispered.

Matt grinned and then resumed his determined strides to the end of the hall.

* * *

Jeff stormed down the hallway, pushing open every door he passed.

What the hell were these people thinking? Hadn't he had this talk with Matt already? Nobody was supposed to get physical with Keri like that. One misstep and she could have fallen flat onto her stomach. Onto his babies.

The hallways were busy but people moved out of his way when he approached.

"Where are they?" he growled.

Someone pointed and he followed their direction. He didn't care if Matt had been following instructions. Somebody was going to get hurt for this tonight.

He got angrier with every second that passed. Vince was putting his babies at risk so he couldn't allow Keri to come on the road anymore after this.

Finally he saw his target. Or at least he saw the cameraman and sound guy, standing outside a locker room.

He burst into the room without knocking. Then stopped dead in his tracks.

"Hi, Jeff. What took you so long? I'm starting to catch a chill here."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!"

She was naked on a sofa, her feet tucked under her. Her hair was loose down her back, and a few of the silky strands framed her face.

He turned away quickly.

"Now's not the time. Where's Matt?"

"Probably halfway out of the city by now," Keri chuckled. "We knew you'd be pissed off."

He turned back to her slowly.

"You knew?"

He tried to make his voice as calm as possible but he must have failed. The smile left Keri's lips.

"Um... Yeah. They asked me and I didn't see anything wrong with it."

"The fuck's wrong with you?! The babies are not fucking toys or a storyline. You could have hurt them."

"All I did was walk from one end of the building to the other," she frowned.

"You were manhandled," he growled.

"Are we really going to argue about this now? Because I wasn't kidding, I really am getting cold."

"Then put some clothes on. I think the twins have had enough excitement for one night, don't you?"

He turned his, back and folded his arms, a scowl still on his face.

He heard shuffling and tensed. Last night when his back had been turned she'd ambushed him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think," she said.

He heard ruffling.

"I'm going to be a crap mother."

That was said in a whisper that pulled his heartstrings. He turned quickly. She was dressed now and her back was to him but her shoulders were slumped.

"Keri... I didn't mean to make you feel like this."

He walked forward until he stood right behind her. Her shoulders were shaking slightly. The tears again.

Fuck.

"You couldn't have turned Vince down. He owns both of us," he said. "It would have happened whether we agreed to it or not."

Keri shook her head and turned to walk to the door.

"I'm tired. I'm going to grab my stuff and go back to the hotel," she said.

"Keri..."

The door closed softly behind her. He swore under his breath as he opened it again. This was all Vince's fault. He needed drama so he created it at everyone else's expenses.

Keri had her head down as she walked down the hallway. A couple of hours ago she'd been cheerful and plotting their next rendezvous. Now her self esteem issues were back. And he was the dick who'd done this.

He had to make this right.

He was about to follow her when he saw Randy walking towards her from the opposite direction.

"Are you alright?" The Viper asked.

He didn't catch Keri's reply but Randy lifted his head to meet his gaze. The cold blue gaze didn't hide the anger.

"Come on. I'll take you back," Randy said.

Then they turned the corner. Gone. Together.

He swore again as he turned the opposite direction. Whatever he felt for the Apex Predator, it was obvious he cared for Keri. This was what needed to happen, especially considering the talk he intended to have with Keri. He had no right getting angry about it.

* * *

**Thank you for your reviews of the last chapter, and to all my new readers and followers. You guys rock.**

**Much love**

**Baybie.**


	37. Chapter 37

Jeff let himself into their room, his steps faltering when he saw Keri sitting in the middle of the huge bed with a laptop on front of her. There were books, paperwork and a few shopping bags all around her, like she'd been working on something the whole time since she'd left the arena.

He'd thought she'd be asleep by now. Or still with Orton. It was after midnight; he'd spent an hour nursing a beer downstairs so he could avoid this situation until he'd memorised everything he had to say.

"Hi," he said.

Keri looked up briefly, then back at whatever she was doing.

"Hi," she muttered.

He cleared his throat and walked over to the lumpy couch. He'd sleep on that crappy thing tonight, no matter what Keri said.

"I thought you were tired?"

"Too much to do," Keri said answered without looking up.

He dropped his bags next to the couch and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Anything I can do?"

"Thanks, but I've got this."

She'd emptied her purse next to her, and her credit cards were lined up by the laptop.

"Shopping?"

"Yes. I've ordered all the things I'll need for the twins. At least all the things I think I'll need. I found these sites some weeks ago with helpful tips and information, and extensive lists for new mothers. It says I may not need everything but I want to be prepared."

He didn't miss the fact that her statement had a lot of 'I', not '_we'._

"I thought we were going to do that together."

Keri closed the laptop and pushed it away.

"I know, but I just didn't want to waste any more time. You were right earlier. I've been... neglecting the babies_"

"I never said that_"

"It doesn't matter how you put it; it boils down to the same thing. Lately my head's been so wrapped up around...other things that I haven't given the important things any thought," Keri said.

She stood up and stretched.

"I ordered all that stuff; it should be delivered to your Dad's house by the end of the week. I confirmed the furnishings you ordered for the house, though I doubled up on some of the nursery things. The interior designers are good to go. And then I looked at some colleges."

He didn't miss the message at all. She really was determined to do this without him.

"Did you...um... Did you order the stuff for my bedroom?"

It was the only way he could ask without really asking.

"I left the master bedroom as it was. I added a thing or two for my room, but I paid for it myself."

So he was still welcome to stay, then. He relaxed a little, but frowned at her words.

"The master bedroom is yours."

"It wouldn't feel right." She shrugged as she started clearing the bed.

It felt like she had finally set some boundaries, the same ones he'd tried to enforce before. He should have been relieved. It would make the talk a lot easier. But still...

"I wasn't implying that you'd be a bad mother." He walked to stand close to her, hands still in his pockets.

"I should have thought about the babies. You were right."

"That doesn't mean you'll be a bad mother."

"It does. But from now on everything I do will be for our kids. I'll try not to fuck up any more," she said as she straightened and met his eyes. "You don't have to worry. About anything."

He didn't miss that message, either.

He sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I'm not going to hold you back from accomplishing any of your goals, but I need you to understand that you're not alone in this. The kids will always have a father, and you... you'll always have me. Okay?"

She nodded.

"We need to talk," he said, indicating for her to sit down next to him.

"Oh, oh. If we were going out I'd be freaking out right about now," Keri said with a small smile.

But she sat and looked at him expectantly. And everything he'd thought to say flew right out of his head.

"Um... Last night... and today at the arena... That can't happen again."

"I know. I said you don't have to worry about that."

"Yeah, but I need to explain something. It's not that I don't want to," he admitted. "I do. A lot. And you know that. It's just that... "

He should have taken a little more time to think about this. Especially considering every word he said was being recorded.

"You mean a lot to me, not just because of the kids, and I... I guess what I'm trying to say is..."

I want you to marry me, to make a life with me even though I did you so wrong, because I'm hopelessly in love with you.

"Um... I want us to be friends forever. But this... You're going to resent me somewhere down the road. You know Vince is making it look like we're this great love story, and maybe... certain people are buying that. Certain potential lovers. You could be missing out on finding the man you want to spend the rest of your life with if we continue to act on our...needs."

Keri gave him a tight smile and looked away.

"I understand where you're coming from but I'm going to have my hands full with the twins. Finding a husband is not on my list of priorities at all."

He shouldn't have been relieved. He pushed that intense satisfaction to the side and tried to remember the speech he had been working on. She needed to find a husband and forget all about him. She needed to find happiness. Then maybe he'd feel a little less guilty.

"You don't have to look. I'm just saying keep the option open. Someone's going to come along who won't make you cry all the time. Who won't hurt _"

Keri stood up and cut him off.

"Okay. I'm really tired now so I'm going to get ready for bed."

He watched her walk to the bathroom door. Nothing had come out the way he'd wanted. What he'd been thinking of had involved something about concentrating on building their friendship so the kids would have a healthier upbringing.

Instead he'd just stuttered a lot of bullshit.

Keri didn't take long in the bathroom but she hadn't dressed for bed. He frowned when he noticed the set of her jaw. She was upset.

"You can have the bed. I'm crashing in Randy's room," she explained as she pulled out a bag from the closet and started stuffing clothes into it.

_What?_

"Isn't it a bit too late_"

"He's waiting for me," she cut in. "I'll see you in the morning before we check out. Goodnight."

And with that shot to his heart she was gone.

He sat in silence for a long time, hoping she would come back. But when his back started hurting from being in the same position for too long he knew she wouldn't.

He swallowed a lump. Then he crawled up the bed to bury his face in the pillow she'd slept on last night, breathing in the sweet scent of her shampoo. It was all he could allow himself now.

His arm brushed against one of the shopping bags she'd left in the bed, knocking it over. Its contents fell out, right by his face.

He took a sharp breath and turned away from it.

A bag of sex toys.

Toys that had probably been bought with him in mind.

Toys he would never have the pleasure of using on her.

* * *

Keri looked at her phone for the millionth time and wiped her face. She'd been sitting on the stairs for a while, hoping to stop crying before she went to Randy's room. He'd seen her tears enough for one day.

How had she got herself in such a mess?

She should never have taken Randy's advice, no matter how satisfying it had been. All she'd done was make herself look like an irresponsible woman with nothing but sex on her mind. And she'd shown everyone she was nowhere near ready for the lifelong responsibility of raising children.

Sniffing again, she found a number in her phonebook and pressed the call button. It was picked up after two rings.

"I can't do this," she said. "Jeff had to tell me just how much I'd fucked up - again - when I should have thought for myself."

She wiped her silent tears.

"Maybe I'm missing some essential maternal gene," she continued. "Maybe I'm doomed to be like my mother."

Maybe she just really wasn't good enough. As a mother and to be somebody's wife.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," she mumbled. "Tell you wife I won't do it again."

"She's actually your biggest supporter," Mark said gruffly. "Says it's a shame I had to come home because she likes that I have a _BFF_who calls me at the stupidest times."

That last bit was said in the irritation she had come to expect from him. It brought a little smile to her lips.

"Aw. If you were here I'd be giving you a great big hug right about now."

"I know," he growled.

That brought a big smile.

"You say the sweetest things," she said. "I'll let you get back to sleep now. I'll call you again real soon, though."

She heard low muttering. That managed to actually make her chuckle.

"Bye, Marky."

"Wait," Mark said with a sigh. "The prospect of parenthood scares anyone. It's probably scaring Jeff, too. It doesn't mean you won't do your best when the lil' ones come."

She sighed.

"I hope you're right."

"I'm always right. Now go to sleep."

The line went dead.

She put her phone back in her pocket and wiped the last of her tears.

Then she stood up and opened the doors to Randy's floor. She had a lot to think about, and she couldn't do that near Jeff. Not when he'd just broken her heart again.

* * *

Jeff was exhausted. After travelling on the noisy bus all morning he'd had to go straight for a media appearance and then to the arena.

All without a wink of sleep.

"Dude, you look like shit," Shane said when he walked into Catering.

"And I'm starving," he said with a mouthful of food, moving his chair over so Shane could sit with him at the small table.

He'd chosen a seat that had the best view of the hallway so he could watch out for Keri. She'd called him in the morning to tell him to catch the bus without her because she'd hitched a ride with Randy so he hadn't seen her all day. And he was desperate to see her.

He felt like a part of him was missing.

"Where's Keri?"

"She was with Matt a minute ago," Shane answered. "I think she was trying to convince him to teach her how to cook."

He stopped chewing.

"I'm supposed to do that." He frowned and put his fork down. "She's pushing me away."

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Shane asked as he bit into an apple.

Shane had his mind-fuck-talk face on him again.

"No," he admitted. But it was what Keri needed.

"Make up your mind, Jeff. Otherwise she really _will_move on."

He met Shane's gaze. Again, his heart squeezed at the thought of giving her up without a fight.

"Jeff, could we have a moment?"

He looked up to see Matt Striker with a microphone, and the camera crew right behind him.

Then he swore under his breath. Vince had really crappy timing. Couldn't they do the interview when his head wasn't so messed up?

Shane chuckled and stood up. "Catch you later."

With a tired breath he watched Matt sit in the vacated chair.

"Could we make this quick?"

"Sure," Striker smiled. "We just need a bit of background and your take on what's going on."

If only it were that simple. Vince would want drama, and he was positive Matt had been asked to deliver it.

"Your relationship with Keri is quite intense. Some are billing you as the Brangelina of the WWE."

"They shouldn't. Keri's going to do a whole lot better than me."

"Why do you feel she needs to find someone else?"

He pursed his lips. Damned if he was going to answer that!

"Okay. We'll get back to that one another time_"

"How many of these interviews are you going to do?"

"As many as it takes," Striker grinned. "So moving on, how old were you two when you first met?"

"She was nine, almost ten. I was sixteen."

"Did you become friends?"

"For a little while. It all went downhill so fast."

"Why?"

"She did everything she could to mess with me. Broke my guitars, blamed me for shit I didn't do to get me into trouble, sold my irreplaceable stuff for shit money... Name it, she probably did it."

"And you've been fighting ever since?"

"Pretty much."

"So what changed? One minute you hate her, the next she's having your baby."

He fell on love.

"Um..."

"Okay, let me rephrase that. Do you still hate her?"

"Of course not. And I realise it was wrong of me to feel that way before. She's an awesome woman and I... I'll forever be grateful that she's having my babies."

"When did you first realise that she's...um...awesome?"

"Too late," he said with a sigh.

"Care to elaborate?"

He shook his head. It occurred to him that Vince wanted that information badly. He couldn't hide how he felt about Keri, that man had to be dying to know why he didn't just chase after her like a normal red-blooded man would have done in his shoes.

"Okay. Maybe you want to talk about when you realised you were attracted to her? I watched some of the footage, and on the day she told you she was still pregnant you revealed to your brother and friends you'd had certain feelings for her for years."

He'd revealed those 'certain feelings' were love. And Keri was going to see that, for sure.

"This show was such a bad idea," he muttered.

"How many years, exactly?"

"It doesn't matter." He scowled.

"Okay. We'll go over that another time," Matt grinned. "So. Twins, huh?"

Now that he could talk about. That was a safe subject.

"Yeah."

"Do you want boys or girls?"

"Definitely girls. They'll be as beautiful as their mother." He frowned. "Then I'd have to buy a gun... All those horny little shits knocking on our door... No. I want boys. Definitely boys."

"Well, boys will certainly help you keep anybody knocking on the door for their mother."

"Yes. I mean, no. That's not what I want. Are we done here?"

Striker had a smug grin on his face.

He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, not breaking eye contact with Striker. He had to set the record straight for everyone.

"Keri is a damn fine woman. She's perfect. But I'm not. I fucked up her life so bad. So you and anybody else thinking we'll get together in the end - don't. It'll never happen. She'll find someone better."

"She's a beautiful woman. I have no doubt that she will."

He frowned.

"Especially considering how close she and Randy have become."

He scowled.

"I... I need to lie down," he muttered.

"You okay? You look a little sick."

"Shut up, Striker," he snapped as he stood up. "I'm tired, that's all."

He'd only taken a few steps when he heard Keri's laughter down the hallway, and like a starved man, he searched through the crowd for her. She'd dressed in jeans and a maternity top that nicely showed the growing bump, and sensible flat shoes. And walking next to her towards him was the Viper himself.

He wanted to walk away before she saw him, but that would only give Striker something to play with.

They slowed down when they saw him and he forced a smile on his lips. He didn't miss the fact that Keri's answering smile seemed a little forced, too. But even with the tension surrounding them, it felt incredibly good to see her.

"Hi," he said. "Are you alright?"

He completely ignored Orton. Until he knew how to deal with him, that had to be the way.

"I'm good," Keri answered.

"I missed you today."

Dammit. That shouldn't have come out at all. He cleared his throat and didn't dare look back at Striker.

"Um... I have to go. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," Keri smiled.

Then without thinking he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. When he straightened, Keri seemed as shocked as he felt. But it didn't mean anything. Civilised people did that all the time, and anyone who'd interpret that innocent gesture any differently had to get their mind out of the gutter.

"Bye," he said, and then he walked in the direction they had come from just so he'd avoid having to walk with Keri and Randy.

* * *

"What - am I fucking invisible?" Randy chuckled.

"He didn't mean anything by it. He was clearly very tired," Keri said. Her eyes were on Jeff as he walked down the hallway.

"No. He blatantly ignored me. But that's okay. You can defend your man."

She punched him in the arm.

"Ouch. Aggression is not good for our babies."

She rolled her eyes and turned away from Jeff's retreating back.

"Keri, may I have a moment?"

A man she'd seen a few times backstage stood in front of her with a camera crew. Did she have a promo she had forgotten about?

"What's going on?"

"We're doing some interviews to wrap up the show."

This shit was finally going to be over? Thank fuck!

"Bring it on. Where do you want me?"

The sooner those idiots stopped following her the better. Even if it meant Jeff would finally see her stupidity in all its entirety.

"I'll see you in the locker room," Randy said, leaning over to kiss her cheek the way Jeff had done.

"Actually, Randy, I'd like a few words with you, too."

What?

"You want me to sit in on the interview? Cool. 'Cause I have questions of my own."

"What?"

"Excellent idea, Randy."

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard!"

Randy knew everything! Who knew what he would say given the chance.

"Sit your little ass down, Keri. You heard the man," Randy grinned as he led her to a table the interviewer indicated and helped her into a seat.

"I want to speak to Vince. I've never seen this guy before in my life; this has to be a mistake."

"Matt Striker. Sometime wrestler and backstage interviewer. Nice to finally meet you," the man smiled.

"Okay, we've got that out of the way. Now on to my questions. Remember the night we all went out and you threw yourself at me in the elevator?"

"I did _not_throw myself at you!"

"Totally threw yourself at me. Can you explain to everyone why you couldn't go through with any of that."

"I'd like to be interviewed by the other guy."

"This is new information. I'd like to know that, too. Was this the night Jeff found out about your past...uh...occupation?"

"I'm not going to talk about that."

"But I will. It had been a good night despite all her efforts to tempt me. Then we were talking about her awesome job and that jealous bastard rocked up from nowhere, like he'd been stalking us all night and getting pissed off with me for doing shots on her body."

She frowned and studied the Viper's face. She didn't buy the innocence.

"Er... It's just a guess. 'Cause I'd have told you if Jeff had followed us and cock-blocked me all night."

She frowned again. That had been around the time Jeff had started pursuing her. Had he really been out with them that night?

"Anyway, so dude came out of nowhere like he'd known what Keri wanted from me. He was angry and jealous, like somebody else touching Keri was the worst thing that's ever happened to him. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure guys don't act that way unless they're really into the girl. Care to explain that one?"

"No."

"That was also the time you found out you're pregnant and Jeff went out of his way to soften that blow and make things a little easier for you, even though he was upset. Correct?"

"Are you asking or you just want to get all my private stuff out there?"

"People need to know," Randy grinned.

"I really hope somebody does a show about you. I'll be all up in that shit like you wouldn't believe."

"I'm the image of propriety. Nobody's got shit on me," Randy said with a dismissive wave. "Anyway, there was the time you lied to the poor guy that you'd got rid of his child, against my advice. Did you really think he'd take the kid from you?"

"Things have changed since then."

"Yeah, drastically. You two obviously lost all your brain cells between then and now. Something so obvious but you can't see it."

"I see things just fine."

"And you choose to ignore them?"

"I'm not ignoring anything! You don't have all the facts, so just drop it."

"I have all the facts I need. All your excuses are just bullshit. I thought after the other day you two would have figured this out but that isn't going to happen if you don't step up. Tell him how you feel and put the guy out of his misery."

"Is this an interview or an interrogation?" She snapped. "I'd like Matt here to finish this up. I have things to do."

"Are you planning more ambushes?" Striker grinned.

Really?

"That's the question you want to ask? That's the sort of cutthroat shit they pay you to do?"

"I was only going to ask about your background, but since Randy brought this up, I'm just going to go with it. And the WWE Universe wants to know," Striker shrugged.

"People already know about that?"

Shit. It seemed she had to go online and see exactly what was being said. And if they thought she was a whore she had to correct them.

"Listen; don't go around making it seem as if I'm this dirty slut who can't keep her panties on. I don't sleep around, despite what you may have heard or seen. For the record, Jeff was my first and my only."

"I think everybody already knows that. Cena's Twitter feed is a boatload of information. Everyone's curious about the pregnant virgin," Striker said.

Randy burst out laughing and she punched his arm again.

"Not funny! That dude needs to learn about boundaries," she snapped. "It's bad enough I can't do or say anything private anymore without him spilling all my other secrets."

"He's only saying what you've already spilt yourself," Randy chuckled, putting his arm over her shoulders and pulling her back against him.

"There are some things that should never be repeated," she grumbled.

"You saved yourself. That's a very good thing, nothing to be ashamed of at all," Randy said softly.

"I'm not ashamed. I was actually very proud of myself but now all this...

"Do you regret any of it?" Randy asked.

She looked up at him and sighed. "No. None of it."

Rand smiled and pulled her closer.

"You two look good together."

She looked at the interviewer she had forgotten about and grimaced. What would Jeff think of that statement?

"Yeah. But it doesn't mean anything. I make anybody look good," Randy said.

And he looked so serious saying that that she had to laugh.

"Okay. And that will take us to my last question for today," Striker said. "About your complicated living arrangements_"

"Nothing complicated about them."

"Well, what will happen when you get a boyfriend or Jeff brings girlfriends home?"

Then she'd die.

She cleared her throat and frowned at the camera that was focused on her face. She wasn't going to stumble on this.

"I'm not some naive little girl. I know life doesn't have fairytale endings. Jeff will be around for however long he wants to be around, and we're both fine with that. I'm not going to force him to put his life on hold just because we're having kids."

"You'd really be fine with that?" Randy asked.

"Of course."

"And if he decides to get married?" Randy asked again.

She felt a little bit sick. She licked her lips and met the Apex Predator's gaze. He knew how she felt. Why was he doing this?

"I'm having kids with a guy who barely tolerates me, but that's okay. We're grownups. We're learning to deal with that. When he finds someone he wants to marry, we'll deal with that too."

All the light-hearted teasing had disappeared from his face. He looked serious, which was something she hadn't seen from him often.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Well, I'm glad you two have it all figured out, then. I wish you the very best."

Yet she got the feeling he was thoroughly pissed off with her.

She frowned and looked at the interviewer.

"We're done here," she snapped and then stood up.

Fucking reality show. It was the stupidest thing she had ever done.

* * *

**AN**/ Somebody's going to reach breaking point real soon.

Thank you for your reviews of the last few chapters **msgemgem, Agnesita1385, Bingobaby, see-me-clarely, Blackhat, ILoveAnime89, RKOCMJHGIRL, Randy4rkocenahardy, LiesForTheLiars, NAY, Kamaria Jay, Pickle Paige, ILoveAnime89, sailormama, xSamiliciousx, Randy4rkocenahardy, Blackhat, LegacyChick, FOREVERECHELON** and all the guests. I'm sorry if I left any names out. I've got a terrible cold and I need to go sleep.

Thank you all for reading and following.

Much love.


	38. Chapter 38

**AN/ Every word was like pulling teeth. Every. Single. Word.**

**I'm so sorry it's taken so long; I've tried to make up for it by giving you a long ass chapter. But it hurt. I hope the next chapter won't take as long to write.**

**Thank you for your reviews, PMs, alerts, follows, favs. I really appreciate that. I hope you enjoy the update and then try to wait patiently for the next one. *grin***

* * *

Jeff's eyes narrowed on Matt Stryker's smug face. The dude had been seriously pissing the fuck out of him the past few days with his impromptu interviews. Did they really need to do this one at six in the fucking morning? Besides the little matter of a Pay Per View on tonight, he had a full day of media to get through.

He looked away from the man sitting opposite him and twiddled his thumbs again. The small hotel room was a hive of activity as the crew set up the equipment. Someone had even thrown expensive looking throws and cushions on the ugly couch he was sitting on - Vince's worst couch to date - and put flower vases and a pretty picture behind it.

As if people didn't already know what Vince was trying to do? He'd finally found a few minutes to go online to check out. Among the few snippets he'd watched were short videos of all the rooms he and Keri had occupied till now. Rooms designed to promote blue balls by making the beds the only comfortable and inviting space. The WWE Universe thought it was fucking hilarious.

Too bad for Vince that Keri hadn't actually slept in any of those sprawling beds since their 'talk' after the Smackdown taping. She might as well have moved in with fucking Orton.

"Do you think she'll be much longer?" Stryker asked.

"I hope so. I hope she ignored your calls and is actually still sleeping. She needs her rest."

He had a radio interview at 9, some Make-A-Wish commitments and signings afterwards that would last until he had to be at the arena for a last run through of his match with Matt. Unlike all his previous media commitments Keri had to go with him to promote Backlash, the Hardy feud and the reality show.

"You just don't want to do the joint interview," Stryker chuckled.

"I don't want to do any interview, period. I don't see why anyone is getting any enjoyment out of this shit."

"From where I'm standing, it's very funny," Stryker grinned.

"Then you're sick in the fucking head," he grumbled.

They all were, Vince especially.

He twiddled his thumbs again and wished for the millionth time the past two days that he hadn't committed himself to giving up smoking. This was the worst time to do that. But the babies were coming soon; he had to be in perfect health to watch them grow.

"You seem very agitated. Nerves?"

"No! I haven't had a cigarette in two days, that's all. Got to stay healthy for Keri."

"And the babies."

"What?"

"You've got to stay healthy for Keri and the babies," Stryker grinned.

"Of course," he said with a frown.

"You looking forward to that?"

"Scared shitless. We're going to be responsible for moulding two little minds, you know? I don't blame Matt and all the guys for thinking we're not ready for this."

"But are you?"

"We will be. We'll do our best. They couldn't have asked for a better mother. Keri will be absolutely amazing with them, I know it. I just hope I don't disappoint her."

"She thinks you're the one who'll be _amazing_ with them. Said so in our last interview."

He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, still twiddling his thumbs as he looked at the activity in the room.

"She doesn't know her own strength. Never has. If these kids come out with half her strength, her loyalty, her courage, determination… they'll be the luckiest kids out there. And they'll never feel unloved or unwanted because Keri has a lot of that to give."

The activity quietened down as the crew finally had everything in place in the small space they had to work with.

"Over the years I've clashed with her over a lot of things but… once we knew she was pregnant, when she was scared and all that and I promised to be there for her and the babies… I never once thought she would be a bad mother. I might have said it to her face once or twice when we argued but I never believed it. And the more time we've had to get used to the idea of us being parents the more I've realised she was born for this. She was born to be somebody's wife and to raise babies. She'll give one hundred and ten percent, just like she does with everything else."

"Does this mean you're finally going to ask her to marry you?"

He stopped twiddling and looked at Stryker sharply, remembering what this was. Damn man had a way of making him talk when he didn't want to. He'd have to seriously consider getting down on his fucking knees and begging Vince to edit a bunch of shit out. It was a good thing they hadn't actually started recording the interview right now.

"Do I have time to change?"

He was in the sweats and T-shirt he'd gone to bed in, because sleeping in the nude was a thing of the past now after Keri ambushed him the last night they'd shared a room. And his hair was a mess. He hadn't bothered with it when he'd opened the door for the crew.

Stryker grinned at the obvious change of subject.

"Sure," he answered.

But just as he said that the door burst open and Keri rushed in.

"Sorry I'm late," she said cheerily.

The fuck was she so happy about? It was too damn early in the morning.

"Had to take some time to make myself look good," she grinned.

His mood improved as he watched every graceful step she took towards them.

Good? She looked amazing! She wore a baby-doll top and jeggings that moulded her perfect behind – nothing fancy – but for some reason the bump made everything about her look more irresistible. Her hair was up in a messy but stylish bun and she'd applied a little makeup. And that ever-present glow shone through like a beacon. Maybe he'd developed a fetish for pregnant women. No, not all pregnant women. Just this one. Made him wish he could keep impregnating her just so he could see her like this all the time.

"You look gorgeous," Stryker said as he rose to his feet and offered her a kiss on the cheek.

Like they'd become friends in the past few days or something. With her social skills, he didn't doubt that.

"Thank you," Keri smiled.

He rose to his feet, too, and hesitated. Keri's smile lost a little of its shine when she noticed that. He cleared his throat.

"Don't apologise. You're worth the wait," he said.

The shine came back. And just like that he didn't feel pissed off about the interview anymore. How could he be when it meant he got to spent a little time in her company without that stupid Orton?

He bent down and kissed her cheek, and then when he lifted his head he held her gaze.

"Morning, mother of my children," he said softly.

The shine increased. Maybe living with her, _being so close to her_ wouldn't be so bad if he got that smile everyday.

"Morning, father of my children," Keri said.

"You're making me look bad," he said, looking down at his attire.

"Bullshit. Your fan girls - and guys - are going to buy this show just to see you like this." She brushed his statement off as she walked to sit down.

He took a moment to ponder that. Part of him believed that she would be one of those fan girls. But it didn't matter now. He'd missed that ship months ago.

He sat next to her, leaving enough space between them to show the viewers they were on friendly terms but not intimate.

Stryker chuckled but didn't comment on it.

"So are you guys excited about your first interview together?"

Keri snorted. He felt the start of a grin form on his lips. They may not have agreed on much over the years but they agreed on this. This show sucked.

"Shall we start the interview now?" Keri asked.

"We started a while ago," Stryker said.

While he'd learned to be somewhat himself with all the cameras following him these interviews made him more guarded. Obviously Stryker had caught on to that and taken advantage. And had recorded everything he had said about Keri.

"Dick," he muttered.

Stryker gave another grin.

"Neither of you have expressed your thoughts on anything going on in your lives right now," Matt said. "Obviously they've only seen a few trailers but you've got the whole Universe very curious about a lot of things."

"Not true. We do vlogs every night, and express our thoughts quite clearly," he said.

"Very concisely," Keri agreed.

"Yeah, but you talk about the weather," Stryker said dryly.

"We've had a string of very beautiful days," Keri said with a shrug. "Sunny, slight breeze here and there, and the moon last night was fucking amazing."

And she had her serious face on. This time he did grin.

"Uh huh," Matt said, not fazed at all. "Well, we're going to talk about something else today. Have either of you heard about all the buzz your show has created? There's so much anticipation that the pre order figures are through the roof."

"I've been a bit busy lately," Keri said. "And tired. I sleep when I get free time."

He turned his head her. She did look tired despite her breezy cheerfulness.

"Is it getting too much? Do you want to go and rest at home?" he asked with a frown.

Though he wanted her at home for other reasons, taking care of her wellbeing was top on his list.

"I'm fine," she answered.

He didn't buy that. The more he studied her the more he saw through the happy mask she'd walked in with.

"I am," she insisted.

"After this I'm buying breakfast then after you eat every bit of it you're going to get into that bed and rest."

"I'm supposed to do the radio interview with you_"

"Don't worry about that."

He held her gaze for a moment and wondered if he'd just sounded like he thought she wasn't looking after the babies properly again.

"There's no shame in letting someone else take care of you sometimes," he said gently.

"You do that a lot."

"I like it," he said with a little shrug.

He must have said the right thing. The hazel eyes softened and she looked away.

"Just for a little while," she muttered.

He smiled and looked back at Stryker.

"Aw. You're already acting like a married couple. Just give her the ring and put everyone out of their misery."

He tensed. Matt had still given him mum's ring despite all his protests. If Stryker mentioned one word about that...

"I'll put _you_ out of your misery if you don't shut up about that," Keri snapped. "Why the hell does everyone keep talking about marriage? I don't need a ring on my finger to have babies! It's not like they're going to barricade themselves in there until somebody asks to marry me."

Stryker looked slightly taken aback.

"So you're saying you don't want to get married anymore?" Stryker asked with a raised brow.

Obviously he'd recovered quickly. Where the hell were the boundaries? Stryker knew the topic of marriage was out of bounds.

"I'm not thinking about that right now," Keri said with an irritated frown. "Are these the type of questions you're going to ask throughout?"

"You mean personal questions?" Stryker asked. "This _is_ a reality show. It's nothing but personal."

"No, I mean stupid questions. I've got half a mind to just..."

When her voice trailed off he looked away from Stryker to her face. Something was wrong. And with the way she had her hands on the bump, it was obviously the babies.

"What is it?"

He closed the gap between them to put his hand over hers on her stomach.

"Should I call a doctor?" he asked, anxiously studying her face.

But when he met her gaze it wasn't worry he saw in her eyes. She moved her hand and gently moved his into its place.

And he felt it.

A little kick.

The worry left him just as fast as it had come to be replaced by something else. An overwhelming love for the little lives he'd created and an acute longing for the day he would finally have them in his arms.

He felt the movement again, this time a little stronger. His eyes trailed down to her stomach and he gently put his other hand on it. His mouth dropped open when he felt it again. A knee? A foot? Was it just one of them or both? He'd known they were little people from the time he had seen the sonogram, but this… it made them real. His children. His legacy. Would they be like him or their mother, or completely different? Would they be identical? Would they be proud of their parents? Four and a half months seemed like too long to wait to get the answers; to finally start this new and permanent phase of his life. He would be a daddy. No matter what happened with Keri, he would always be the daddy.

He lifted his head to look at their mother's face and saw her hazel eyes shining with love as she looked at him. For him or for their babies? He desperately wanted to believe it was love for him, even after everything he had put her through, even when nothing would come of it.

Because his love for her seemed to be burning brighter than it had ever done before. This woman would always be the only one his heart would beat for.

He brought his head down to hers slowly, uncertainly.

She didn't pull away. Part of him believed Keri would never pull away from him, which was probably the root of the problem. How would they move on from this if they couldn't extinguish this fire?

Her lips were soft and tasted of cherry lip gloss. He loved cherries. He loved her lips. Perfect combination. His tongue snaked out to taste more of her before he gently sucked her bottom lip into his mouth. He allowed himself only a moment, because any longer than that and he wouldn't stop. When he lifted his head to meet her gaze again he was struck again by the intensity of what he could see in them. Lust? Love?

Someone cleared their throat and broke the moment. It was funny how Keri always made him forget everyone else in the room. His eyes narrowed on Stryker and the stupid grin as he put some distance between him and Keri. Not too much, though. One hand remained on her stomach.

He knew he'd just shown the Universe how messed up his head was. One minute he was insisting he wanted Keri to find someone else and the next he was kissing her. But he'd just felt his babies kick for fuck's sake! It was an emotional moment and he could be forgiven for doing that. Any man without a heart made of stone would have done exactly the same.

It didn't mean anything more than what it actually was. Keri would know that.

Wouldn't she?

He looked at her face and saw her flushed cheeks and her fingers messing with the hem of her top. Would she know that kiss wouldn't lead to anything?

"Shall we continue?" Stryker chuckled.

"Please," Keri answered drily.

"After that display I just have to ask. Why _the hell_ aren't you together?"

He remained quiet. Keri seemed to have the same idea.

"You know we're going to keep pushing and looking through the footage we already have to find the answers, don't you?"

Stupid reality show.

"This isn't a fucking fairytale, Stryker," he ground out. "People don't always get what they want."

"And what you want is?" Stryker asked.

"It doesn't matter what I want. I've got what I deserve."

He felt Keri's gaze on him after he said that. What did she expect him to say? He'd screwed up, now he had to go through all this unbearable pain of being with her without actually being with her.

"What do you mean by that? You've been very cryptic when it comes to actually explaining your reasons for not doing the decent thing_"

"I am doing the _decent thing_," he growled.

"The decent thing? Staying in my life just because you knocked me up?" Keri asked.

Her voice was so low he almost didn't hear her. But he heard the pain behind every word.

"I'm taking responsibility, yes, but that's not what I mean. The decent thing. Making sure the things I've done to you don't stop you from living the life you want with the people you want."

He finally met her gaze head on so she could understand what he really meant. But instead of seeing understanding in those hazel depths he saw heated anger.

"Oh, so you're doing me a favour?" Keri asked through her teeth.

"I'm here because I want to be. I'd be all broken up if you told me to stay away from you. So, no. I'm not doing you a favour. I'm doing myself a favour."

Keri frowned. Could she really not understand what he was saying? He was a fucking rapist. There was no way back from that.

He dropped his hand from her stomach to grasp hers in her lap.

"I'm going to say this now just in case you or anybody else has any doubts. Even if you weren't having my babies, I'd still say the same. I'd be broken up… devastated… if I didn't have you in my life."

She was still frowning. Still confused. He'd have to find some time away from the cameras to really talk this through with her.

"This goes back to the night you proposed to her and she nearly slapped your head off," Stryker said. "Do you want to talk us through that day?"

The sex, realising he was in love with her, the big revelation about her past or the rejection? None of it was an option. Keri squeezed his hand, so he knew she agreed with him.

"There's nothing to say," he said.

"We all want to know," Stryker continued, like Jeff hadn't even spoken, "what was going through your head at the time."

"It really doesn't matter_"

"Were you angry?" Stryker shot off quickly.

"Yeah. I never have and never will tolerate anybody hurting Keri in any way."

"So you were you feeling sorry for her?"

"I was too angry to feel anything else," he answered truthfully. "Besides, Keri doesn't need anybody's pity."

"You'd just found out she was pregnant. That's why you asked, isn't it?"

"Of course not! How can you even think_?"

"So why did you ask?"

He almost blurted it out. _I asked because I fucking love her. _But Stryker already knew that. He'd slipped up a few times already and said it, now Stryker was obviously trying to make him say it in front of Keri.

Keri, who was still looking at him with those big, pretty eyes. At least she wasn't angry anymore. But it was almost as if she was holding her breath for his answer. But she shouldn't worry. He wasn't going to embarrass her by admitting his love for the cameras.

"We have a long day ahead of us," he said. "We should wrap this up."

Maybe it was his imagination, but he saw disappointment flash fleetingly in her eyes. He looked away to meet Stryker's gaze. The man was playing hardball with his questions, trying to trip him up just to cause a little bit of drama again. What was the point of telling Keri how he felt?

"We still have a lot of ground to cover. I haven't really spoken to Keri_"

"We're done," he said firmly.

Stryker smirked then nodded his head.

He didn't wait for Stryker to formally wrap the interview up; he stood and with Keri's hand still in his, helped her up, too. But with all the people in their room there was really nowhere he could run to without looking like too much of an idiot. So he walked Keri round to the bed and asked her to sit while he dug up the room service menu.

"Why don't you order for us while I grab a shower?"

He was feeling a bit too exposed right now. All these people knew all his private stuff, all the things he really didn't want anybody to know. All the sex he'd had with Keri, all the fights, the night he almost killed a man, the night he'd been rejected… He needed a few minutes in the bathroom, away from all this insanity, to get his head right.

* * *

By the time the car finally drove up to the arena he felt sufficiently mentally equipped to deal with anyone who dropped a bomb on him like Stryker had. He'd had plenty of practice. It seemed that Keri was all anybody wanted to talk about today, and their disappointment that she hadn't been with him had been almost comical. He could only imagine the sort of questions that would have popped up if Keri had been sitting right next to him.

Matt was waiting for him in the locker room when he got there, so he quickly changed into suitable attire. They could do most of their spots in their sleep but he was slightly concerned about some of it. They had to make sure they didn't fuck up.

It took a while for him to be satisfied, with Matt telling him over and over that it would be fine.

"Have you seen Keri today?" he asked when they were finally making their way to the back.

"Yeah. Is she alright? She was a bit too quiet," Matt answered.

He wiped the sweat from his face with the towel hanging around his neck before taking a drink from his water bottle.

"She's fine. We had an early morning interview with Stryker, and I didn't like the questions so I made him stop. Maybe she's just thinking about that."

"What sort of questions?"

"About that night. About why I asked her to marry me."

"And you still couldn't tell her the truth, huh? You didn't say something stupid like,' I don't love you', did you?"

"Of course not. I didn't say anything."

They came up to the locker room but Matt pulled him back before he could open the door.

"Tell me honestly. I know you love her; I know it's killing you not to be with her… Why aren't you telling her?"

He looked over at his constant companions then back at Matt. But even if the crew wasn't there, there was no way he'd admit to his brother what he'd done.

"She'll do a lot better than me," he muttered, then pushed the door open.

A lot of the superstars he was sharing with were already there. The show was meant to start in an hour so everyone was busy getting prepared. But all he had left to do for tonight was to get stretched out a bit before his match, so he had a bit of time to kill.

"I'm going to find her, to see if she's okay," he said as he threw his towel in his locker and picked his bottle of water back up. "See you later."

But it seemed Keri didn't want to be found. For a change she wasn't with Orton or Cena.

"What did you do to her?" Randy asked before he'd even had a chance to ask where she was.

"Nothing. I've been gone all day," he answered with an irritated frown.

Why did everyone always assume he was always to blame for her mood swings?

"You did something," Randy insisted, walking up to the door. "And you better make it right because if I have to listen to her cry one more night_"

"She cries?"

"She always fucking cries. _You_ make her cry," Randy growled.

"There are cameras all over our room. Randy's starting to look really soft because he's being all caring, sensitive and shit. Really, really soft," John said.

"Shut up," Randy said to his friend before turning back to him. "Find her and fix it."

Then the door was slammed in his face.

He frowned. Keri hadn't slept in their room lately but during the day they'd been getting along pretty good. Why would she cry?

Because she was unhappy? Did she feel cornered because she was having his kids when she didn't really want to? Or was it something else? Was it because she didn't want to stay away from him like he was forcing her to?

He slowly turned from the closed door and looked up and down the hallway. He didn't want to find her now. To say what? I'm sorry I fucked up your life? Or I'm sorry you care for me more than you should?

So he turned back the way he had come towards the busy Catering area. He was starving but he didn't feel like eating anymore. Still, that was a better option than going back to his locker room with Matt there asking questions.

He'd been ignoring everyone else and looking at his sandwich and salad for what seemed like hours when someone came to sit at his table.

"You look like you could use a friend."

He looked up quickly to see Maria sitting opposite him. She had a warm smile on her face as if their brief relationship was now finally in the past where it belonged.

"Ria! Hi," he said, smiling back at her.

He hadn't spoken to her since Wrestlemania.

"You waiting for someone?" Maria asked as she started picking at her salad.

"No. Just trying to stay out of everyone's way."

"What have you done this time?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Nothing. I'm not always a dick, you know."

"I know. I was just kidding," Maria said with a slight frown.

"Sorry," he grumbled.

"Wanna talk about it?"

And be humiliated even further?

"Not really. Let's talk about something else."

* * *

Keri wandered up and down the arena hallways looking for Jeff. She'd been told he was looking for her, and she really needed to talk to him.

She hadn't had a wink of sleep after Jeff had left, wondering what he meant. If he hadn't asked her to marry him out of pity or for convenience then could it be that he was really in love with her? Or he hadn't wanted to say the he wasn't in love with her because it would have embarrassed her on TV?

She had to know. The uncertainty had been eating at her all day. Fuck the cameras.

Maybe he did love her but didn't want them together because of what he thought he'd done to her? The only thing that could be that bad was the morning they'd slept together the first time. Could he really still be cut up about that? He hadn't raped her! Well, not really... Sure, she might have asked him not to take her like that, she might have said no... Okay, so maybe they'd been a little resistance at first...

But damn it, she'd told him she didn't feel violated! The moment he'd touched her she'd wanted him more than anything she'd ever wanted in her life. Being with him was the most intense feeling she ever had; she would never regret it.

Maybe if she made him understand that he'd be open to the idea of a real relationship. Then maybe in time he would fall in love with her, too.

The past few nights... Making all the plans she'd made had just hammered in the fact that she wanted nothing more than to include him in them. It wasn't just that she didn't want to be a single parent... Honestly, if she didn't have Jeff, being a single parent was a much more attractive notion than being with another man.

If they could just talk about this; if she could get her thoughts out in the open maybe Jeff would be straight with her, too.

Laughter rang out from somewhere further up the hallway and her heart skipped a best when she recognised it. Her feet carried her forward without her realising it until she stood right by the catering area.

Then she froze.

Her heart dropped right down to her stomach when she saw who he was sitting with. Who he was laughing so freely with. Even with so many people talking and walking around them, they looked like they were in their own world.

"I'd missed this," Jeff said. "I'd almost forgotten how crazy you are."

"I missed this, too," Maria said.

How could she have so easily forgotten about the woman Jeff had been with before the baby bomb? The woman he'd once wanted to marry? Was Maria the real reason he'd refused to take their crazy relationship any further?

She took a step back. Who was she kidding? She was the reason Jeff didn't want a relationship, not Maria. Jeff, more than anyone else, knew just how messed up she was.

"So do you want to meet at the bar or will you pick me up?" Maria asked.

Her heart cracked.

She bit her lip as she turned away, but her escape was blocked by a rather hard, muscular wall. When she looked up, Randy's gaze was on the couple sitting with their heads close together just a few feet away from them.

"Still think you'll be able to handle it when he brings a girl home?" he asked softly.

Now really wasn't the time for Randy to rub that in. It was like being kicked while she was already down.

Without answering him, she walked around him and towards wardrobe to get ready for the night.

* * *

"So do you want to meet at the bar or will you pick me up?" Maria asked.

He really wasn't in a partying mood. And even though they were talking now, he didn't think now was the right time to try to be friends again.

He looked up from his now empty plate to watch the people bustling around him and froze when he saw who was standing right by the entrance.

Fuck!

Randy's eyes were shooting icy daggers at him, and Keri stood right in front of him. He couldn't hear what Randy said to her, but it was quite obvious he was the topic of conversation. Possibly Maria, too, if the rigid set of Keri's shoulders was anything to go by. Maybe he'd done something that would make Keri cry again, when he'd been warned not to.

"I guess the silence means no?" Maria asked.

When Keri walked away without even looking back at him, he sighed and looked at Maria.

"I'm sorry. Maybe another time," he said with a small smile.

Maria nodded and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"It's fine. I really didn't expect you to anyway," she said as she stood up. "You've got too much on your plate. Maybe another time?"

"Sure," he smiled again.

He said goodbye then watched Maria walk out, stopping a little to speak to Randy when she noticed him. Randy gave him one last look before turning and walking away with Maria.

"Fuck!"

He pushed his plate away, not wanting to dwell on the thought that Keri might have been jealous. He'd thought that before the day Keri had accompanied him to a signing and the ring rat had asked for his signature on her chest. It had pleased him a little then. But it was freaking him out now.

Because Keri being jealous would mean she did have feelings for him.

And that would make him all kinds of messed up because whether she loved him or not, whether he loved her or not, didn't change the fact that he'd hurt her in the worst possible way. He'd spend his whole life in this hell if he had to, even though that wouldn't make up for what he'd done.

* * *

The Brother versus Brother I Quit match went off almost without a hitch. Almost. As Jeff lifted his hands in victory he was quite positive he'd hurt Matt. A few words with his brother, who was all tied up on the now broken table confirmed this.

He kept up the pretence of the feud as he slid out of the ring and took Keri's hand.

"But he's hurt," Keri said, resisting him.

She'd screamed, as she did during all their matches, with every shot he and Matt had made.

"The quicker we get out of here the sooner he'll get help," he said in her ear.

They were waiting for Matt behind the curtain before long.

"He'd already quit! Why the Fuck did you have to do that?"

"We worked on that many times," Jeff frowned as he pushed the Trainer away. He was hurt but his brother needed more attention than he did.

"Then both of you are stupid! Who the hell jumps over a freaking ladder onto a helpless man? And who would agree to being tied up like that on those flimsy tables? That was an accident waiting to happen," Keri ranted as she paced around the Gorilla.

Matt was helped through the curtain and Keri stopped her pacing and immediately went to his side.

"What hurts?" Keri asked.

"My hand. I think it's broken," Matt answered through his teeth. It looked like every step he took was hurting him.

"Shit, I'm sorry," he said as he went forward, too.

"My fault," Matt said with a wince.

"I need to do a quick exam," a Trainer said as he carefully led Matt into a room that had been set aside for that. "But I think you're right. An ambulance is waiting; you'll be at the hospital in a few minutes."

Jeff followed the ambulance in his rental with Keri in the passenger seat. She'd been rather quiet since her little rant.

"He'll be fine," he said softly, taking his hand from the wheel to lay it on her knee.

"I know," Keri muttered, moving her leg out of the way.

He risked a sideways glance at her. She was tense. He suspected it was because of what had happened before the show but there was no way he was going to explain any of that if she didn't actually ask him.

"I'm going to go home with Mattie. He's going to need someone to take care of him," she said.

Or she didn't want to be around him much longer. It hurt, but he had to suck it up. He was a man, not a freaking teenager. Losing Keri wasn't going to kill him. They'd both eventually get past this.

"I think that would be for the best," he said.

Keri didn't say anything else for the rest of the journey. At the hospital they were led to a semi private waiting room with their camera crew. But those guys would have been better off staying back at the hotel because Keri didn't speak to him there either. And hours later, after Matt had been x-rayed and his hand set, she opted to spend the rest of the night on Mattie's couch. Just in case he needed anything, she said.

He knew better, though. But at least she hadn't gone back to Orton's.

* * *

Keri packed the last thing into her bag then smiled up at Randy as he zipped it up for her.

"Is that everything?" Randy asked.

"I think so. If I've left anything I'm sure Jeff will bring it home."

The smile on her face faltered when she looked at the man in question. He'd been sitting on the couch throwing Randy dark looks ever since they'd walked in half an hour earlier. It was confusing her and quite frankly she was tired of all the drama.

"I still don't get why you can't stay with me a while longer," Randy grumbled. "It's not like you'll be cooking for him, or helping him piss or anything."

She rolled her eyes at him and she packed up her and Matt's travelling information into her bag. For a change she'd been in charge of that.

"You say the nicest things," she said sarcastically.

"You know what I mean. If you go now you'll probably not come back again."

She stopped looking through her handbag to smile at her friend. He'd been in a mood since she'd told him her plans.

"The first thing I'll do when I get home is make sure I do up a room ready for whenever you want to visit."

"Yeah, because that's the same thing as having you here everyday," Randy grunted.

Her smile grew wider. It actually felt good to know there would be people missing her. John, Ted and Cody were waiting for her downstairs; she knew they were a bit bummed, too.

"Come tonight after Raw. You can spend your days off helping me with the nursery."

"No," Jeff growled. "They're _my_ kids. I'll do the nursery myself."

She bit her tongue and threw Jeff another glance. His gaze was cold and hard, almost like the days before all this sexual stuff started. What was it he'd said yesterday? It would devastate him if she wasn't in his life? Well, it didn't look like it from where she was standing.

"Fine. He'll help me with other things, then."

Jeff had nothing to say to that but she could tell he was angry. Whatever. She was moving on just like he'd asked her to.

"Then I'll book my ticket as soon as possible," Randy said as he walked to the door. "Finish up here, I'll meet you downstairs."

The last thing she wanted was to be alone with Jeff right now but there was something she needed to say.

When she was satisfied she had all her belongings she turned to face him.

"I'm going to spend a little time with the guys downstairs while I wait for Matt," she said.

Jeff only nodded. There was nothing in his green eyes or his face that indicated that this was as hard for him as it was for her. The man who'd been so sweet when he'd felt his babies kick for the first time yesterday seemed to have disappeared.

She let out a sigh and closed her eyes.

"I can't do this," she whispered.

"This?"

She opened her eyes and met his gaze again.

"I don't think living together will work. I know it's not fair because it's your house, but you were right. If we brought our kids up in the middle of this shit we'll mess them up."

She turned away from him walked to the door. This was really it. This was the first step. Cutting herself off from him. Her heart hadn't stopped hurting since she'd made that decision and now it felt like it had completely shattered.

"See you around, Jeff."

"See ya."

* * *

**Oh, Jeff. I wonder what you'll do next.**

**I'm trying to wrap this one up as soon as possible. I'm guessing another 4 or so chapters.**


End file.
